Forever Yours
by jesse15
Summary: Tony and Michelle: Set in the time frame of season 2 - but the bomb and kiss never happened. Please read and review. Hope you enjoy!
1. Default Chapter

_This story takes place around the same time frame that season 2 is in. The day of the bomb and the kiss never happened. Please let me know what you think and if you want me to keep going. Thanks!!_

Michelle sat staring at the shopping bag on the floor in front of her. She couldn't bare to wrap it because she knew she would want to look at it again. It was Tony Almeida's birthday tomorrow and she couldn't wait to give him the present she had been mulling over for the last couple months. Over the last year he had become without a doubt her closest friend. She was pretty sure he felt the same way about her but the problem was, she wanted to be a lot more than his best friend. This was a pipe dream though as there was no hope he would return her feelings. She had become resigned to the fact that she just wasn't what he would want in a girlfriend. Things were ok now when he was single because basically any extra attention he had to give came to Michelle, but she knew as soon as he found a partner that would all end. She knew she should be distancing herself more so when that day came she wasn't completely heartbroken – that was her brain talking, but her heart ached to take any form of closeness she could from him.

She was going to push all those worries to the side for now so she could just get through tomorrow. Being his birthday it was her first ever chance to spoil him and really let him know just how much she valued having him in her life.

Michelle's father was the owner and manager of one of the largest advertising firms in Los Angeles. He was always getting his hands on the most unbelievable things in his position. Knowing that Tony's biggest passion outside of the Chicago Cubs was basketball. He seemed to know everything about it. He had even set up a hoop in the parking lot out that back of CTU so he could shoot hoops when he needed to let off steam. So she had pressed her Dad up to see if he could get her some great seats at a game so she could give him the tickets for his birthday. She had almost passed out when he Dad appeared at her door the very next day with a courtside seating season pass. Probably one of the hardest things in the world to get your hands on. She couldn't wait to see his face smile when he opened the envelope. Seeing as she hadn't spent a cent on the pass and wasn't going to claim she had bought it she had spent forever roaming the shops to find him something special. Eventually she had stumbled on the most beautiful black leather jacket that she knew he would look so amazing in. She had spent the entire week working out exactly what to write in the card. Now all she had to do was wrap the jacket and somehow try and put her excitement aside and get some sleep. It wasn't just Tony's birthday tomorrow, she had been offered her first field assignment by division and there were meetings all day for it.

Tony had tried to drink as much as he possibly could since he got home from work so that he could just pass out in bed instead of lying there thinking all night. On one hand he had never felt so relieved, on the other he was so angry with himself. Tony had taken over as Director of CTU when George Mason had decided to return to division. Up until the last couple of days he had enjoyed the new position – now he figured his use of his power may have just cost him the one person in the world that meant anything to him, Michelle.

At the beginning of the week Michelle had been offered her first field assignment from division. At first she seemed a little nervous but the more she thought about it the more and more excited she had become. As director he was privy to all details on any mission making its way through CTU. The more he read about Michelle's task the less he like the idea of her having any part in it. She would basically have to go undercover as a hooker at a certain venue where division felt confident she would be picked up by at least someone in Dale Pault's gang. He was the largest known drug dealer in L.A with strong financial connections to other countries. Usually these guys would find a girl they liked and keep her around for a few days, until they got bored. Division just needed Michelle to get picked up by one of his guys so they could get a location – then she would need to get out, of course agents would be as close as possible to help her.

Not only was Michelle Tony's best friend, she was also the girl he had fallen completely in love with. He knew he would never have a chance in hell of Michelle wanting to be with him, but as much as he tried to get over her he seemed to just keep falling deeper and deeper for her. She was everything in the world to him.

Tony had spent the last couple of days agonising over Michelle's role in the Pault Bust. He hated the thought with a passion of Michelle having any part of it. All he could picture was her in tight revealing clothes and some disgusting druggie with his hands all over her. It was far too dangerous – surely there would have to be every chance in the world that she would end up in a position where someone would demand sex from her and there would be no excuse or way for her to get out of it. What if they ruffed her up, or decided she had seen too much and wanted to get rid of her. There were just far too many ways this mission would result in Michelle being hurt or sexually assaulted. He had spent all day doing nothing but thinking about it and watching Michelle out of the corner of his eye. The thought of any harm coming to her made him feel physically sick. Eventually he came to a decision – over his dead body was Michelle going to have anything to do with this mission.

So for the first time in his life he abused his position for personal reasons and pulled rank having Michelle removed from the case. He had come up with some crap for division on how Michelle was needed a lot more at CTU helping him with a few investigations he had been working on. This was easy to do as there were certain things that only Michelle was trained for at CTU so Tony couldn't just get someone else to help him – where as division could find someone else to help out on the mission. He had done this after she had left work for the day, she wouldn't find out until she went to the meeting first thing in the morning.

He felt so relieved that she would no longer be working on the mission. She was out of harms way which was the most important thing to him. On the other hand he knew how devastated she would be when she learned she had been dropped from the case. If it had gone successfully it would have opened a lot of doors for her career wise. He felt so guilty for taking those opportunities away from her, he had no right to be deciding what she could or couldn't do. It wasn't even like he could explain to her why he was acting so incredibly over-protective – she had no idea he was in love with her. He knew once she found out what he had done in the morning there would never be a chance of them getting together – he would be lucky if she ever even just spoke to him again. Even if he couldn't have her, he still would do everything in his power to make sure she was always ok and safe.

This was going to be the worst birthday he had ever had.....

Michelle bumped into Tony the second she walked through the office doors. Once she realised who it was she dropped her bag and threw her arms around his neck, "Happy Birthday Almeida". She kissed him on the cheek before removing her hands from his body and picking her bag back up. Tony soaked in the moment, knowing this could well and truly be the last time she wanted to be near him like that.

"Thanks Chelle."

"Are we going to go out for your birthday lunch today?"

She was so happy, he was hating himself knowing within minutes she was going to be a mess – a mess he was going to have to deal with. It was so hard for him to act normal. "Sure, I'd like that if you still want too".

"I wouldn't miss it for anything. I've gotta run, I don't want to be late for the big meeting....have a good morning birthday boy."

He watched her dump her bag at her station, gather her folders and race into the conference room. He sunk his head and made his way to his office to wait for her. It would only be a matter of minutes now until she learned Tony had pulled her off the case.

Michelle made her way over to sit next to the new guy Adam. She had barely sat down for a second before Hammond started talking to her across the room.

"Dessler, there will be no need for you to sit in on this meeting. I am sorry but we are cutting you loose from the case."

Michelle's face went bright red and she felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Had she heard right? She hadn't done anything wrong, surely this was a mistake. "What do you mean sir? Have I done something wrong?"

"What I mean is...you are no longer working this case. You are not the right person for the task. It was Tony's decision. I need to ask you to leave so we can begin."

Michelle wondered if he legs would support her as she got up to leave. Her whole body felt completely weak the second she heard Hammond say Tony's name. She had never been so embarrassed to have something like that happen in front of all of her co-workers. She kept her head concentrating on the floor as she made her way out. She was scared if she caught eye contact with anyone she would burst into tears. Why the hell would Tony have taken her off the case? She didn't understand at all so she began to make her way up to his office.

He looked so guilty the second her saw her walk into her office and close the door. She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. It made her think – she had never been upset with Tony before, they had never had a cross word to say to one another.

"I guess you have been expecting this visit..."

Tony kept his eyes glued to his desk, he couldn't look at her yet. "Yeah, I have."

"What's going on Tony? Why did you have me dropped?"

"Michelle....you are just not ready for this kind of mission. Maybe the next one."

"WHAT?? When the hell did you decide that?"

Tony got out of his chair and stood behind it, he finally offered her some eye contact. "I've been thinking about it the last few days...."

Michelle cut him off. "How could you have not spoken to me about it Tony?"

"I knew what you would say Michelle, and bottom line this is my decision – I didn't need to discuss it with anyone."

Michelle felt so confused, she couldn't believe any of this was happening. "Why are you acting like this to me Tony? We talk about everything and you know I am more than capable of pulling off that task."

"Yes we do always talk about everything, but this was different. Michelle, this wasn't the right task for you. I know you are upset but I need you to respect this decision I made for you."

"How can I respect what I don't understand? Tony, don't you think I am good enough to pull off this mission?"

Tony was rubbing the side of his face roughly. This was so hard, how was he suppose to answer that question? She looked so hurt and confused. "I'm not interested in you being good enough to pull that type of mission off. It was far too dangerous."

"Tony, of course it was dangerous – every field mission is. This is where you are suppose to trust in me enough that I can do my job properly."

He had turned his back on her, but all of a sudden it was like he snapped and he spun around and yelled at her. He could tell straight away he had frightened her with his voice. "What and risk you being raped or beaten up?"

He was really upsetting her. He was so angry and now he was yelling at her. She looked out and saw lots of people in the office had stopped because they had heard him scream at her. She tried to keep her voice quiet but it still came out louder than she wanted. "That wouldn't have happened Tony. If by chance it did, then I could handle it just like anyone else on field ops has too...."

"Are you really that fucking naive Michelle? You were going to be a hooker – all these guys would have wanted you for was a screw. That would have been their very first point of business with you, how did you suppose you were going to avoid that??"

She could feel tears rising but she couldn't lose it here in the middle of CTU. Tony had never spoken to her like that before. Why all of a sudden did he think she was so incompetent? "What does it matter Tony what I did to avoid that.....who cares....you only give a damn about getting the end result so how I choose to handle situations is my decision as long as I get you what you want. I told you I could handle it."

He walked right up to her so their bodies were only a foot apart. He continued to yell, he was so riled up he had no hope of calming himself down. Their faces were so close she could feel his breath. "You could handle it could you?.....You could handle some druggies hands all over you, roughly using your body to make himself feel good? You think you could handle some disgusting man having sex with you – especially when he could care less about you. You don't fucking understand how serious this is.....don't you even care for 1 second that if that mission had gone wrong, it wouldn't have just been your life destroyed .....You know I actually believed you were the 1 person that wouldn't do that to me – how fucking stupid am I."

Michelle really didn't understand how things had suddenly turned so horrible. She thought Tony believed in her, that he respected her as an agent but she obviously couldn't have been more wrong. He just saw her as weak and pathetic. He had no confidence in her abilities he was just confident she would screw everything up. She didn't even know how to answer him, she couldn't even look at him. No matter what she had to keep herself composed until she got out of the building. Tony's words cut her so deeply, never had she been so devastated by some ones words.

The sudden silence snapped Tony out of it. He had completely lost it with her. It was almost like she didn't really care what would have happened on the mission as long as she had completed it successfully. Did she really think she could handle any of that? How could she when he knew it was the last thing in the world he could have handled. This had gotten out of control, which was completely his fault. He couldn't believe how rough he had been on her. He watched her body shrivel up and her head sink as she turned and walked out of his office and down the stairs. He had really messed things up and he knew he had to go after her. He took off down the stairs, she had reached her station and was throwing things into her bag.

He kept his voice so low that no one else would hear. "Chelle I'm sorry. Please hear me out...."

"I'm asking you really nicely Tony....don't say another word. You have humiliated me enough today. All I want is to be able to get out of here before I start crying."

"Chelle...."

She cut him off by pushing a package into his chest, he grabbed it with his hands. "Happy Birthday Tony". With that she walked straight past him and left the building.

Tony knew everyone was watching him so he clutched the present she had thrust into his hand and headed back up to his office. Sitting in his chair he opened the card first. As he slid it out of the envelope a small plastic thing the same size as a credit card fell out. He flipped it over to see his name, a small photo of him and an ID number. That was when he realised what he was actually holding. It was a season pass to the basketball plus it was green which meant it was courtside. "Holy Shit." He couldn't believe it, how in the world did she get this for him? It was the most amazing gift he had ever received. He stared at it for 10 minutes, he couldn't put it down - he was completely and utterly in shock that she had done this for him.

He read the card....

To My Dear Almeida,

Happy Birthday!! You are so an old man now! It's a bummer you have to work on your day, I promise to try and make work as fun as possible for you today. Plus we have lunch at your most favourite restaurant. I hope you have a great birthday – you deserve the best.

I hope you know Tony, how much I treasure your friendship. You are my best friend and I appreciate just how lucky I am to have you in my life. You always know how to put a smile on my face and when I am with you, you always make me feel like I am the most important person. You are such a special guy and you deserve the very best in life. I've never met anyone like you before – how is it that you have the most beautiful personality and you are a complete hottie as well.

I hope this next year is full of love and laughter for you.

Thanks for being you Tony.

Love Chelle

Tony read her words 5 times over before he even took his eyes off the card. He hadn't noticed but he was crying. He had to read it again, and then again. It was the nicest card he had ever received. In fact no one had ever even said anything remotely close to what she had written. He had no idea how much he meant to her. He also had no idea that she thought he was a hottie. He smiled and read that sentence over and over again. Michelle Dessler actually thought he was a hottie. Nothing affected him more though then her words, "Thanks for being you Tony." With those 5 words she managed to make him feel proud of who he was.

He opened up the parcel and lifted out the black leather jacket. He loved it, he absolutely loved it. He put it on straight away and it fit perfectly. It was the coolest piece of clothing he had ever owned.

Tony just couldn't believe how much time, effort, money and thought she had put into his birthday present. It truly was perfect. The perfect gift from the perfect girl. His heart sank as he thought about what had just happened with her. He grabbed his keys and headed out of the office.


	2. chapter 2

  
  
He pushed open and ran through the door that led into the car park, he almost ran straight into 3 people standing on the other side of the door. Raising his head he saw it was Michelle, Alberta Green and Josh Mathews from Division.  
  
There was no time for small talk, Green cut straight to the point. "Good timing Tony, we were on our way up to see you. Michelle will fill you in. We will see you both in the conference room in a few minute." With that they both walked back inside leaving Michelle and Tony alone together.  
  
Michelle kept her head focused on the floor. She had seen that he was wearing the new jacket and he looked gorgeous. She didn't dare have any eye contact with him.  
  
Tony tilted his head as he spoke trying to see her face. "Michelle...."  
  
"Please don't...."  
  
"But we have to talk this thing through..."  
  
"You have made your mind up, there is nothing left to say."  
  
"Michelle there is so much I need to say...."  
  
Michelle decided to give it a go. "Ok then, would you please reconsider your decision?"  
  
Tony had never wanted to say 'yes' more in his life. If he did, maybe he could fix the mess he had caused. He loved her way too much to put her in such a dangerous situation. "I am sorry...but no."  
  
"I can do this Tony, I know I can. I've been waiting for this kind of opportunity for so long – Leon leaves for division next week so they will have to fill his position today or tomorrow. If I did this it would probably give me a real shot at being promoted to his position. You know how much I want this..."  
  
"I can't change my mind just because of a promotion you may or may not get. You are excellent at your job Michelle - you will have lots of opportunities to move up."  
  
"If I am so excellent at my job then why do you have so little confidence in me for this task?"  
  
"The consequences are too high if things go wrong with this Chelle."  
  
"So who is going to do it then?"  
  
"I am not 100% sure but I believe they are thinking about Julia."  
  
Michelle instinctively lifted her head and looked at him. "Are you kidding me?! Tony she has a family – a husband and a son. Her husband would never let her do it. What if something happened to her, what about them?" 

"Michelle....that is the reason that applies to you."  
  
"That doesn't apply to me at all. I don't have a child. I don't have a husband – I don't even have a boyfriend. Nothing! Julia has a hell of a lot more to lose than me."  
  
It hurt that Michelle hadn't thought about what it would do to him if something happened to her. It really made him realise that she wouldn't consider him to be more than a best friend. He had no idea what to say.  
  
Tony wasn't saying anything and Michelle hoped it was because she had made a good point and he was reconsidering. She decided to keep talking hoping another good point will help sway his decision. "Please Tony, let me show you that I am a good agent. I've worked really hard to get to here, I deserve a real go. Plus you know if something happened to Julia it would impact a lot more people than me – it's not fair on her husband either. I can handle it, I can take care of myself...."  
  
Tony couldn't hear any more of this. It was devesting that he didn't fit into her own life equation. It made him sick with anger and broke his heart that she could stand there and worry about somebodies husband that she didn't even know yet not even a thought to him. Tony wasn't the only one who thought Michelle was gorgeous, every single guy at work thought she was hot, if she went all the guys in the group would want a go with her – she would just be a piece of meet to Dale Pault's gang. Once again, his emotions got the better of him and he began to raise his voice at her.  
  
"You can say whatever the hell you want Michelle but I will not be changing my mind. You will not be taking any part of this mission. Why don't you stop worrying about Julia's husband who you don't know and put a little bit of thought into the people it would affect if something happened to you. You are being so selfish Michelle. How do you suppose you could handle it.....I mean look at you, your on the verge of tears just because I'm yelling at you. What the hell is it going to take to make you wake up and realise the consequences of this mission?"  
  
Michelle felt like she had been punched in the stomach. Tony had never been so nasty to her. He was the person that always made her feel good, but she couldn't think of a time in her life that she had been more hurt by someone's words. She didn't understand how she was being selfish, how could Tony call her that? She never wanted anyone to think of her as selfish, she tried so hard to never be selfish. Tony was right though, how did she expect to be a field agent when she was going to cry just because they were arguing. She had been in lots of confrontations before though and never cried. It was different with Tony though because she loved him so much. She was stunned, it was hard to accept how little confidence he had in her. She didn't have the strength to keep the tears back any longer so she let them start flowing down her cheeks. She had to get to the bathroom and wash up before the meeting.  
  
"Fine Tony, I get the point - I am not doing the mission. You made the right decision. I'm not on the verge of tears anymore, now I am crying, so you are right how could I handle the mission when I can't even keep myself together with you. I would make a horrible field agent. I guess I should be thankful that you could see how incompetent I was before I went on the mission. I am sorry for whatever it is that I am doing that is selfish." Michelle opened the door and walked inside as fast as she could, she basically ran to the bathroom.  
  
Tony just stood there and watched Michelle disappear. He was disgusted with himself. He had completely crossed the line and said some really cruel things. He didn't mean any of it, it was like he was trying to hurt her because she was hurting him so much. He felt sick that because of him Michelle was doubting herself. She was one of CTU's best agents and yet he had made her think she wasn't good enough. Not only that but because he had been so gutless to tell her the truth behind his actions she now believed he thought she was selfish and a bad agent. It was going to be impossible to recover from the damage he had caused. He was grinding his teeth and his hands were clenched – his body was completely charged with emotion.  
  
Michelle was already in the room along with everyone else when Tony got there. He walked into the middle of Matthews speaking to Michelle.  
  
"It was disappointing to hear you were not part of the team on the Pault case. With that experience under your belt, Leon's job would have been yours. Unfortunately I cannot offer it to you now because without the mission you don't fit the compulsory criteria for that position. You are a real asset to CTU Michelle, don't let this set back discourage you."  
  
Tony figured Michelle would be hating him right now – she was right the mission spelt promotion for her. He could not have felt worse.  
  
Alberta Green got straight to the point. "Tony and Michelle, there is a conference in Arizona tomorrow morning that we would like you both to attend. I apologise for giving you such late notice but this conference is by invitation only and we just received ours about 1 hour ago. You will be representing the Los Angeles section of CTU. We feel you always work very well as team and it is important that you are both there tomorrow. There is a seminar the next day that you may be interested in attending as well."  
  
Michelle and Tony both just nodded their heads. Michelle couldn't think of anything worse to have to do but she knew better than to argue with Alberta Green. Tony was wrapped this had come up, just the 2 of them in another state for a couple days. That gave him a huge opportunity to fix everything.  
  
Matthews took over. "Janet will take care of all of your travel and accommodation details for you. Obviously you will need to leave today, it's fortunate it is only a 1 hour flight from here. Michelle, if you work out how much time you need to go and pack and then you can take a flight that suits. I was hoping if you could get there before 4 then you could register you and Tony – might be too hard in the morning. Tony I understand you have a meeting with district at 4:15 so you will need to take a flight after that – work it out with Janet." He handed them both a folder. "Everything you need to know is in the folders. Any questions?"  
  
Michelle was the first to respond. "I don't have any questions, I head home now and start getting ready."  
  
"I'll do the same as Michelle, I'll go pack so it is done before my meeting – that way I can go straight to the airport."  
  
Green and Matthews thanked Tony and Michelle and apologised again for late notice. Michelle walked out of the room and didn't even steal a glance at Tony, she went to her station, gathered her things and headed for the car park again. Tony raced to get his keys, he wanted to catch up with Michelle before she got in her car. He managed to catch up with her when she was only about 10 meters away from it. He called her name but she ignored it, he called again and she still didn't turn around so he walked up beside her and grabbed her left arm making her stop walking.  
  
"Please Chelle, you gotta hear me out. I know you are hating me right now but I want to explain myself and apologise."  
  
As soon as Tony took her arm and started talking Michelle was reduced to tears. If only she could get home and cry and deal with this in private. Her bottom lip quivered as she responded to Tony. "I just can't right now Tony....I can't handle you yelling at me again, or opening my eyes to what a loser I am, I just want to be on my own."  
  
"I won't yell, I need...." Tony stopped himself. He could tell Michelle had really had enough right now. She had her head turned a little, like she had trouble looking at him and she was crying hard. He had never seen her cry before today and it absolutely broke his heart. He wasn't going to make her stand there and deal with him right now, it wasn't fair. Before he had realised he had done it, he took one of her long beautiful curls that was sticking to her cheek because of the tears and tucked it behind her ear. He started again, "I'll leave it for now Chelle, but maybe tonight you would be willing to hear me out? I know I don't deserve it, but I beg you to give me some time." Michelle nodded her head. "Thanks Chelle."  
  
She pulled her arm down out of his grip and started to walk to her care again. Tony called her name and this time she stopped and turned around to him.  
  
"My birthday present....Wow Chelle, it's hard to even find words to express how much I love it. Thank you Michelle."  
  
"I'm glad you liked it."  
  
Tony walked right up to Michelle and put a hand on each shoulder and then slid them up and down the top part of her arm. "I can't believe how much time, effort and money you would have put into the present. It is without a doubt the best present I have ever got."  
  
"Thanks..."  
  
"The card....it was beautiful. I'm sure you are regretting giving that to me now. I cried Chelle when I read it, because it was so unbelievably sweet and kind. Your words touched me in a way I didn't think possible. You are my best friend, and you are the most important person. Obviously before today, is that really how you felt about me, like am I truly your best friend? Why? You have hundreds of friends."

Michelle lifted her head to look at Tony. It was how she felt, although really what she felt was a deep love for him. Looking at him, even after everything today, she saw the person she valued the most. She just got sucked in by his eyes and then she would find herself completely lost in him. She doubted there was anything that could be done that would make her feel more upset then how she had learnt Tony felt about her today.  
  
Each word was so broken with her sobbing it was very difficult to understand her. There were so many tears her eyes were blurry and they stung. "Yeah you are my best friend." He used his thumbs to wipe the tears away from her eyes and then tucked her hair again. "It's just....it's....you....I....it's just you Tony. You're the best person I know. I aahhh gotta go. I really need to go. Please."  
  
Her words meant so much to him. Tony said 'ok' and then took his hands off her. "I guess I'll see you at the hotel around dinner time. Let me have dinner with you."  
  
Michelle nodded her head, both of them stood staring at each other for a few moments before turning to walk the opposite ways.


	3. chapter 3

Tony made his way back to his office, he was just so relieved he would have the chance to spend time with Michelle tonight. He could take her dinner and there would be no interruptions, he decided he would tell her exactly how he felt. He knew he had no chance with her, but at least if he was honest she would understand why he had been such a bastard. It would also make her gain the confidence in herself back that he had so cruelly ripped away from her today.

He was in his office for barely a minute when Hammond came charging through the door. "I need you in the conference room now Tony, where is Michelle?"

"She is heading home to get ready to go to Arizona, why what's up?"

"We just got word from District that a couple of members of Paults group were spotted close to Summit this morning. We need to do the mission tonight while we know they are in the area, it's our best chance."

"Brad, Michelle was taken off the mission, I took her out myself."

"Well she is back on it. Direct from Division and you will be running the task from here, instead of district like planned."

"I need to be prepped better, I only know the outline of the case. Find someone else Brad, I don't want Michelle on this case."

"I don't have time to argue this, there is no one else. Julia has gone home sick, and there just isn't anyone else. Now get her back immediately, when you do, I want both of you to meet me in L15."

Tony knew there was no way Hammond was going to budge. He could not believe this was happening. This was even worse now then what they would have been before, they were rushing to set the case up in one day opposed to having the entire week as originally planned. Being unprepared for something like this was so dangerous. He felt physically sick picking up the phone to call Michelle. She answered it on the third ring.

"Dessler."

"Chelle, its Tony. I need you to turn around and come back to the office."

"Why?"

"You are back in play Chelle, and Arizona is off, you will be on the case tonight."

"I don't understand, why did you change your mind?"

"I didn't, Hammond is pulling rank on me. Julia is home sick and there is no one else. You could refuse to do it you know Chelle."

"God Tony, you really believe I'm not good enough for this, don't you? Even when I am the last resort you'd rather I wasn't doing it, therefore ruining the mission."

"It's not that Chelle. I don't want to see you hurt. I'm sure they could find someone else, I'll look into it."

"Don't bother, I'll be there in 10 minutes."

Michelle hung up. She had no idea how she felt about all this. On one hand she was glad she was back in play, but now she felt so nervous. After the fuss Tony has caused about her not doing it because she couldn't handle it she no longer believed in herself that she was capable. Tony was the best agent she knew, if he said she wasn't up for it then he was most probably right. She liked the idea of doing the mission and pulling it off successfully so she could show Tony she was a good agent. Today though, she very much doubted that would happen. Tony was right, she couldn't handle this kind of thing – she couldn't even handle a fight with him. If she failed it now after all of this, not only would she let everyone else down, but she could only imagine what Tony would think of her then.

Michelle went back to CTU and made her way to her station. She let Tony know she was here and he told her to meet him at L15. Michelle found Hammond, Alberta Green, Matthews and Tony all sitting around the desk when she walked in. She greeted everyone and took a seat. Matthews led the meeting.

"Michelle and Tony we do apologise for mucking you both around so much today, as you know it is the nature of the job. Now Michelle are you on board?"

Tony interrupted before Michelle could answer. "Sorry, can I please just have 2 minutes alone with Michelle?"

"Fine, we will go get a coffee, be done by the time we are back."

They all got up and vacated the room. Tony got out of his chair and sat on the desk almost in front of Michelle.

"Please Chelle, I am begging you, don't accept this."

"I have too Tony, they have no one else. If I let them down now, they will always hold it against me."

"You are probably right Chelle, it wouldn't go over well. But you are so much more important than this job. You said so yourself that I was your best friend, can't you just do this for me? You know me Chelle, I never make a fuss over anything unless I have a very good reason too. For me, would you do that for me?"

"How are they going to react? Will I be fired?"

Tony couldn't believe it, he might have actually got through to her. "Well I know they will give you a really rough time and you won't get that promotion. There is no way they would fire you though, I would never expect or ask you this Chelle if I thought it would jeopardise your job."

Michelle closed her eyes. She loved this guy too much, no matter how he felt about her she couldn't turn her own feelings off. He was right, he never fussed unless there was a very good reason too, if he was this adamant she couldn't do it, then she wouldn't.

"Fine Tony, I'll step down. It breaks my heart that you have such little confidence in me. This morning I woke up thinking I was the luckiest girl in the world because I had you in my life – that I admire and respect you so much and I thought you returned those feelings to me., you have no idea how happy that made me. Learning the truth of how you really feel has completely ripped me up inside. You were right though. I do believe and know now that I am not capable of this. Driving back here all I could think was that I wanted to do this so badly for just one reason.....and that was to have an opportunity to prove to you that I could be a good agent so maybe your opinion of me would rise a little. I've never gone against you Tony, so I guess there is no reason to start now."

Tony got off the table and kissed Michelle on her forehead. It surprised both of them, he had done it without thinking and it was the last thing she expected. Nothing like that had ever happened between them. "Chelle, you have no idea how much this means to me. You mean the world to me and if you will have dinner with me tonight to give me a chance to tell you how I really feel. I've been such a fool and as a result you totally believe all these horrible things that are just not true......"

Tony couldn't finish because the door opened and they all walked back in. After everyone took their seats again Matthews began where he had left off.

"Michelle you need to sign this form before we go any further."

Michelle felt so flushed, her legs had gone weak, her stomach had flipped and her hands were sweating – she was so nervous. "Ummm I can't sign those papers, I am very sorry but I can't do this mission."

You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Her 3 superiors looked at her in complete shock. Hammond stood up to talk.

"What exactly do you mean you can't do the mission?" He turned to Tony, "Do you have something to do with this Almeida?"

Michelle spoke up before Tony had a chance to answer. "No, Tony has nothing to do with this, it's me, I don't want to do it."

"Why Michelle? You were so excited about this when I approached you the first time around last week. What's happened?"

"Nothing sir, I don't believe I am capable to do this. I just can't, I am sorry but you will need to find someone else."

"It's not that easy Michelle, there is no one else. Tonight is the best chance we have. Being nervous is natural, but you can do this because you have been trained. This is one of our biggest cases Michelle, are you really willing to impair it because of this?"

Michelle looked at Tony, his face was expressionless and he had little beads of sweat on his forehead and he was rubbing the side of his face as he always does when he is nervous. She looked back at Hammond. "Sir, I am not going to do this mission, I'm sorry but I can't do it."

Hammond was scary enough when he was in a good mood but you wouldn't to be in a 5 block radius when he is pissed off. His face was going red, his fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white. No one in the room had seen him look this angry. He didn't yell, he kept a very calm tone, but each word was clearly defined and you just new he was so serious about what he was saying.

"Michelle, you have disappointed me and you will let the entire team down. This is just not good enough and I refuse to work with such attitude at CTU. Our line of work is too important for someone to be unreliable and flimsy. Now I know this is your first assignment and you are frightened, it is a very hard first case to be given, I understand that and we will all support you as much as we can. Everyone gets nervous like this Michelle but you need to trust in yourself that you are more than capable. I am sorry to have to say this, but if you chose not to accept this mission, then we will terminate your position with CTU, effective immediately. I am going to ask you one last time, Are you on board?"

Michelle felt like she was going to pass out. She couldn't just lose her job like that, she had worked for years to get to where she is, how could she just give it all up? She looked at Tony, he nodded his head at her. He was telling her to do the mission, she felt a little relieved. "I apologise that I just freaked out there, you are right it is nerves. I am on board, I will do this mission."

"You made the right decision Michelle, you are a great asset to CTU and it would have been a shame to see you throw that away. It's ok to be nervous, Tony will get you prepared and then you will feel a little better."

Michelle nodded her head. The meeting lasted over 4 hours. They went over each detail in depth. Michelle would wear a camera that would be disguised as an earring and a tracking device in her shoe so that Tony would be able to follow her movements. It was too risky to have any other device on her body so a lot was reliant on Michelle looking after herself and back-up being able to be as close as possible the entire time. Michelle was shown Id's for the men she was on the look out for. She would pose as a prostitute, declining anyone that came near her unless it was a man for Paults group. Once in the car with the man she would advise that police were swarming the area doing massive busts on this kind of thing so it would be safer if they could go somewhere else besides his car. Hopefully he would take her to either his house or Paults, anywhere that could give Michelle a way of finding out where Pault was. Michelle would need to delay things as long as possible anyway she could giving herself time to get the answers she needed. Getting away before the man tried something on her was going to be the hardest part. Although no one said it out loud, everyone felt that she would be extremely lucky to get away unharmed.

Her measurements were taken and one of the running agents was sent out to find something suitable for Michelle to wear. After the meeting had finished Hammond asked Tony to prep Michelle and help her get organised. In other words he wanted Tony to calm Michelle down. They were to have dinner and then they suggested Michelle try and have a sleep before she had to go. CTU had a couple rooms with beds exactly for things like this, or for someone injured or sick. They would leave for Summit at 11pm. It was nearly 7pm. Tony ordered in some pizza and then led Michelle up to his office hoping they could have 25 minutes to chat before dinner was here and she was expected to get some sleep. Once in his office he offered Michelle the couch to sit on.

"I don't really know what to say Chelle."

"Doesn't matter, there is nothing to say."

"No, that's not what I meant. There is so much to say I don't know where to start."

"Well I don't have much to say. I just want this day to be over."

Tony wanted to go over and sit next to her on the couch but he wasn't sure if he should or not. He pulled up a chair and sat right in front a Michelle. "I'm really sorry for what happened with Hammond, I still can't believe he would have terminated you. I can't believe after everything today, you are still on this mission. I wanted for us to go to Arizona so much, I was looking forward to having lots of time with you and sorting everything out."

"We both know how this is going to go Tony. There is no point even bothering to work anything out. Lets just have dinner and then I'll sleep."

"Chelle, how can you even say that? We don't know how this is going to go. There is every reason for us to talk things out. Please Chelle."

"Tony you have spent all day telling me why I shouldn't do this mission. I know you think I am incompetent, that I won't be able to handle the consequences of what happens to me. So don't try for second to make me believe everything is going to be ok. I want to deal with all of this myself, you don't need to worry Tony, I know how you feel – I would never expect you or anyone to be a part of this."

Michelle was right, after everything he had said and done all day, he could never convince her things would be ok. "Chelle, I think you are a fantastic agent. You are excellent at your job. I didn't mean all that crap I said..."

Michelle cut him off, "No Tony, you were right. I cried with you, not just once, but many times today because we were fighting. If I can't even keep composed around you, I have no chance with these guys. Seriously, just forget it Tony, there is no point. Besides it was just Hammond that thinks I am nervous, I'm not – I am just fine."

"I really screwed up in so many ways today." Tony got off his chair and sat right next to Michelle on the couch. "How are you feeling now Chelle? Tell me."

Michelle turned her body slightly so she was facing Tony more than straight. "You really want to know?" Michelle began crying. Tony nodded his head and then rested his hand on her hand. "What if I can't get out of....you know....letting them have their way with me?" Tony squeezed her hand. "What do I do Tony? I'd feel so disgusted with myself, I can only imagine what guys would think about me. I mean it's not like I was attacked or something – I am willingly walking into this situation." As Michelle was speaking Tony was shaking his head and saying 'no'. He put his hand under her chin and lifted her head so he could see her face. He hated hearing Michelle speak like that. "What if I don't get the information I am meant too Tony? God.....I feel so lonely, I'm never going to get through this, am I?" Tony had tears rolling down his cheeks. He was nodding his head and saying 'yes'. He moved him self in closer to Michelle and wrapped an arm around her. "I don't want to let people down, but I am so scared.....I feel so lonely...."

Tony couldn't stand to hear Michelle anymore. He violently hated CTU and everything about it, he felt like punching Hammonds lights out. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried in front of someone else, it had probably been when he was a young child. He didn't know what to do, he put a finger up to her lips to have her stop talking, and it made her take a couple deep breaths. He didn't think his actions through, he just did it without even realising it. He grabbed Michelle's face and started kissing her desperately. Once he realised what he was doing, he was horrified with himself and went to pull away, but then it hit him that she was actually kissing him back. His heart started to race and his body felt weak. Kissing Michelle was even more amazing than he could have imagined. They were kissing really fast and they were both rough with each other. Tony heard himself groan, he wanted to just pick her up and take home. He would wrap her up and keep her safe.

Michelle couldn't believe what was happening. Tony was kissing her. Why the hell was he doing that? Nothing had been more obvious today than lots of reasons not to like her. Never had she kissed anyone so intensely. She could taste his salty tears and her chin and lips were getting scratched from his stubble – she loved it. She couldn't get enough of him so she kissed him harder. She felt him pushing her body down onto the couch so she was lying on her back and he was on top of her. They never broke the kiss and now Tony had covered her body with his. She felt the loneliness fade away. It filled the hole in her heart she was feeling. She didn't think it was possible, but she fell in love with him even more.

The intercom in Tony's office blasted, "Tony, pizza is here – everyone is waiting for you guys in the green room."

They both jumped up a million miles an hour. Michelle flattened her hair back down. The room was awkwardly silent. Michelle couldn't stand the silence. She knew Tony had just kissed her in the moment because he probably didn't know what else to do with her in such a blubbering mess.. More than anything in the world she wished he had kissed her for the same reasons she had kissed him back but she knew, especially after everything he had said today that, that was just not possible. He thought she was naive, selfish and basically useless as a field agent.......not exactly what he would want in a partner. She didn't want him to stress out, the last thing either of them needed now was to start fighting over this too.

"Ummm Tony......you don't need to say anything. I know it was just something that happened and that's all. Let's just go get dinner and then I'll get out of your hair and have a sleep, so we can both forget about it."

Tony came crashing back down to reality. A minute ago he was in heaven because he was finally holding the woman he loved in his arms. That wasn't something that just happened, that was full of chemistry and charged emotions – it couldn't possibly have been more passionate. He couldn't believe Michelle didn't feel any of that, to her it was just something that had happened. He didn't understand, just like that everything he had wanted and dreamed about for the last year was suddenly over. She obviously wasn't interested and he was just going to have to get use to it. He was angry, not only at Michelle, at everything. He couldn't even look at her as he responded, he put his head down. How could she be so blind as to not see how perfect they would be together? How could she hurt him so much by kissing him back if she didn't mean it?

"Whatever.......do whatever you have to do."

"Why are you like that Tony? "

"Like what Michelle?"

"You are being really short and abrupt with me. I mean I know you regret what just happened, but I told you I understood that – you don't need to worry."

"That is fine.....I'm just so glad you have got it all figured out Michelle, things are just great now!" He was being sarcastic, something he was very good at.

"Ok, obviously you are pissed at me for another thing – gee I am having trouble keeping up Tony. What is it now?"

"Maybe you could get off my case for one minute and have a think about it." Tony was straightening out his shirt and then he walked over to Michelle. "I am just so happy that what just happened would be so easy for you to forget and ignore. It makes me even more fucking happy that you look at all this as 'just something that happened.'"

"What the hell do you expect me to say Tony? What do you want from me? I just said what I thought you wanted to hear."

They were standing only a couple feet apart, both looking each other straight in the eye. Tony took another step in closer. "What I want is for you to say what you are really thinking, not what you think I want to hear."

Tony had pushed Michelle to her limit. "Fine Tony......I am thinking how your lips were perfect Tony, you were passionate and intense. Your mouth fit perfectly with mine, your tongue drove me crazy, even your tears tasted so good. I loved the feel of your stubble. I loved the way you held me in your arms and covered my body with yours taking away my loneliness, making me feel better than I could ever imagine. Are you happy now? I've spent the whole day in hell today Tony, and it feels all I have done is express my feelings to someone that keeps trampling all over them – so if you don't mind I am going to go and try and get some sleep." Michelle ran out of the door and down the stairs. Tony asked her to stay, but she completely ignored him and kept going.

Tony stood standing in shock. Her words replayed themselves over and over in his head. He couldn't believe it, she had actually loved the kiss for so many of the same reasons he did. It had been so charged with chemistry and passion because they were both taking so much from it. He didn't have time to stand here dumbstruck, he had to find Michelle and tell her everything.

He bumped into Matthews on the way down and he asked Tony to come to tech 1. Tony asked if it could wait for a few minutes but Matthews stressed it was important and he needed Tony now. In tech 1 they were checking and testing the camera and tracking device Michelle would wear. Tony needed to decide which channels he wanted each device to come through. He also needed to advise tactical on their placements around the area in co-ordination with local police. He asked for files on every single person associated with Pault to be pulled up and put on the monitors around the room. He allocated 3 members of his team to data from the central station. They would be responsible for providing Tony with as much information as possible on any person Michelle had dealings with.

Tony had never wanted a mission to run more smoothly, he spent close to 2 hours co-coordinating the entire set up leaving no stone un turned. He had back-up take position at least 50 yards in closer than he would normally do, but it helped ease him a little knowing they could help Michelle those few moments earlier if need be. By the time he had finished it was just after 10pm. They would need to wake Michelle at 10:30 to have her get ready and fitted with both devices. Once again he still hadn't been able to talk to her. As much as he couldn't admit it to himself, he was scared to death if he didn't make things right with Michelle he might never have a chance again. He didn't have time to go into it all with her, but he had to do something.

He walked into the room she was sleeping in. It was still fairly light in the room as it had windows that went straight into the office. Michelle was lying on her side facing the wall. He closed the door which made Michelle lift her head and take a quick look at him. Tony could see that she had obviously been laying there crying. She put her head back down facing the wall and spoke to him softly between sobs.

"Tony, I'm begging you, please don't start up with me. I can't handle it now – I need to just be able think about what is going to happen tonight."

As much as Tony wanted to tell her everything, he knew that wasn't fair. Michelle was about to go on a very important and dangerous mission and it was his responsibility to help her, he was also suppose to have calmed her down and prepped her – he had done neither.

He walked quietly to the bed and sat on the edge of it, he then lay down on his side behind her and pulled her body into his. She didn't try and resist him, her body felt weak and limp in his arms. He used his hand to brush the hair off her neck and then he wrapped his arm around her waist. He whispered into her ear.

"Chelle, hey....hey, it's ok. You are going to be ok."

Her voice was so quiet in response he had to bring himself even closer to hear what she was saying. "I am scared....I know I shouldn't be because it's my job, but I am so scared Tony."

He held her tighter. "I know....I am scared too Michelle, that's why I have been acting so crazy. I'm not going to let anything happen to you though. You are going to do just great, I know you will. I'll be watching everything.....you can do this Chelle."

She didn't respond, she just shut her eyes tight and tried to enjoy how safe and warm she felt right now. She felt the stubble on Tony's chin brush over her bare neck. The roughness was soon replaced by the softness of his lips. He so tenderly kissed her neck. She never wanted this moment to end, she used each kiss he offered as if it was a little bit of strength to help her pull herself together. They lay in silence for 15 minutes, Tony just held her as close and tightly as possible. Every few minutes he would sweetly kiss the back of her neck.

Just after 10:30 Tony whispered into her ear. "Chelle, it's time to go." She nodded her head and started to sit up, he helped her and they both made their way to the door. Michelle opened it, but Tony put his hand on it and pushed it closed again. He cornered her up against the wall and stood just inches from her. "You are so precious.....you need to know how precious you are to me." They stared intently at each other. Tony wanted to say more, but it wasn't the time or place and he wanted to respect her when she asked him not to start it all up with her. Michelle felt touched by his words, but was completely unwilling to offer any more of herself to Tony. She had revealed herself to him today and been so hurt in return. Having his arms around her for the last 15 minutes had felt perfect, but considering what was just about to happen she wasn't going to read into it too much. After all, even though they had fought today, they were still friends and he was probably just trying to comfort her.

Tony was disappointed that she didn't really seem to accept what he had said. He knew he couldn't expect much, but that didn't stop his heart begging for more. He led Michelle to tech 1 and took her through all the procedures that had been set up. After that was done, Michelle was given the outfit she needed to change into. Tony explained that they would be able to see everything she was facing, but they wouldn't be able to hear anything. If she needed back-up, all she had to do was hold the earring tight in her hand for 10 seconds which would block their view giving them the signal she needed help. They would always know exactly where she was because of the tracking device in her shoe. They went over the Id's of the 6 men they had on file again, and then it was time for Michelle to get changed.

Michelle stood staring at herself in the mirror. It just didn't look like her in the reflection. Her skirt was short and so tight, her top was revealing and just about non-existent. She felt disgusting dressed like that and she was completely embarrassed for anyone in the office to see her like this, especially Tony. After she had heard her name being called for the 4th time she opened the door and walked out. Everyone stopped and stared. Most of her co-workers knew she was feeling nervous and so to try and lighten the mood they all started to give her a wolf whistle. Michelle managed to give them all a little smile back. She searched the room for Tony, her eyes spotted him at the back of the room, and she could tell he wasn't happy. She walked right up to him. "I guess I'm ready Tony."

He took his jacket off and handed it to her, "put this on." She hadn't even left the building yet and he was already so uptight. He couldn't stand having to look at her like this. She had the most stunning body and they outfit they had chosen for her was far too revealing for his liking. He knew even just the other guys in the office were gawking at her. The reality of what she was about to have to go do was sinking in at a terrifying rate. He felt jealous and protective of her. He didn't want anyone else seeing her like this. He shoved the jacket back at her, "Put it on Michelle." He hadn't even realised he had raised his voice. Matthews came over and stood next to him.

"What the hell is wrong with you Tony?"

"I just....I mean....surely there is something else she can wear that gets the point across but isn't.....you know...like this!"

"Tony, she is supposed to be a prostitute – she is going to have to look like one too."

"I understand that Matthews, but it doesn't need to be to this extent – every guy in the whole damn neighbourhood is going to be cracking on to her like this."

Matthews's cell rang and he turned around to answer it leaving Michelle and Tony. Michelle tried to keep her voice down so the rest of the office didn't hear every word they were saying.

"What are you doing Tony? Don't make this worse than it already is."

Tony stepped closer and kept his voice low as well. "I just don't want every guy and their dog seeing you like that, it's too much."

"Well it is your team that picked it out for me. Do you really think I want to be seen like this? I feel sick just knowing Hammond and Matthews have seen me like this."

"Yeah but..."

Michelle cut him off. "What are you doing Tony? I'm not going to argue with you about this. You think you have a bloody problem with what I am wearing how the hell do you think I feel? If you have something else for me to wear, then great but if you don't stop making this harder on me then it has to be."

Tony took Michelle's hand. "Ok, I am sorry.....it's just I care for you so much and I'm hating this, I'm hating every second of this and you haven't even left yet."

Michelle squeezed his hand. She wasn't use to seeing Tony so agitated, she could see how much all of this was really getting to him. They stood like this for a minute or so until Matthews was back from his call.

Tony knew it was time to get the mission started. He sent everyone to their stations, phoned in placement to back up and then turned to Michelle. "Are you ready? TJ is just outside to take you to your drop off."

"I'm as ready as I'll be."

Tony didn't care who saw him, he had to hug Michelle goodbye. He held her tight and whispered in her ear. "Take care of you.....I'm here for you."

"Thanks, I'll see you soon......hopefully."

With that she was gone out the door. Tony headed to his station, 'hopefully, hopefully, hopefully – kept going round and round his head. Her choice of words left him feeling sick.

**THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS - I APPRECIATE YOU GUYS TAKING THE TIME TO POST THEM. I HOPE YOU ARE ENJOYING THIS STORY SO FAR!**


	4. chapter 4

The ride out to the summit didn't take nearly long enough for Michelle. She sat next to TJ in the passenger seat. She hadn't known TJ for long as he had only started at CTU within the last month. When they hit the drop off point, TJ offered her his best wishes and she gave him an unsure smile before she jumped out.

Michelle surveyed her surroundings. The street was close to empty apart from a few wondering drunks. She had never felt more out of her comfort zone. It took her a moment to remember that everyone at CTU was seeing everything she did and so far she hadn't even taken more than 5 steps. She started making her way down the sidewalk until she found what she felt was a suitable position to set up camp.

Tony was glued to his monitor, there was nothing much to see yet but he couldn't manage to peel his eyes away for a second. He had one of his staff bring him the folders from his desk so he could try and get some work done while they waited. On top of the folders that were bought to him was the card from Michelle. He allowed his eyes to leave the screen to read the card 3 times. He knew it by heart now, yet it meant so much more seeing it in her hand writing.

Michelle's legs were killing her and she was starting to freeze. She checked her watch for the 20th time, it was nearly 2am. She wondered how long they were going to keep her out there waiting. She had been approached by 3 men, none of them were from the files at CTU so she had just frogged them off. She didn't even feel very nervous anymore because it was starting to look like she wasn't going to have to deal with this tonight. She could feel her eyes starting to sting from tiredness.

At 2:45am a short stocky man started to head Michelle's way. She could feel her stomach start to get butterflies and all of a sudden she felt wide awake again. The closer he got the more Michelle could make out his facial features and she was completely sure he was one of the men she was waiting for. She turned so she was facing him completely so that CTU would be able to see who it was. She was sure he was known as Joe, he had a lengthy rap sheet for burglaries and assaulting his ex wife. She took some deep breaths and tried to keep herself calm. He walked directly up to her and was very obvious as he looked her up and down.

"My car is around the corner, care to join me?"

This is it Michelle thought to herself. "Sure."

He led her around the corner to a dark green jaguar, Michelle made sure that the camera would be able to get his license plate number. He opened the door for her and gruffly told her to get in. Once he was in himself he started the car up and began to drive.

"I know a quiet place to go, not far from here."

"You know this area has been swarming with cops lately, 3 of my girls have been busted this week already."

"That's the last shit I need right now. How long have you got?"

"I am free for as long as you want me to be." Michelle felt sick speaking to him like this. He repulsed her and the thought of him touching her made her skin crawl. She prayed back-up was able to follow her position because she now had no idea where they were.

Tony's heart was racing. Michelle was in the car with Joe and as far as they knew, Joe was Dale's wing man. He had the local police pass Joe's van twice at different points to back up what Michelle would have said and scare him into taking her somewhere private – hopefully his house.

Joe answered his cell phone, it was Dale on the other end. Michelle had no idea who he was talking to but listened intently to pick up as much information as he could.

"7 is fine with me, did he say who he will be with?..........so are you going to take Sarah with you?............Thank God you finally got rid of her, you could have so much better.........nah, it's way better if you have a partner too – it will make it less awkward........well I just picked up a slut from the Summit I'm sure she would scrub up fine.......ok, see you in 15."

Dale was going to be meeting with a dealer from Columbia for dinner the next night. This deal was everything to him right now. It would pay his way into a highly guarded rebellious group that operated out of South America. Once he was in with them he would really be able to take care of certain government groups that had so seriously wronged him. He had disposed of Sarah just this morning as she had become too annoying. The man he was meeting, Santiago, was bringing his wife and Dale new it would be awkward if he didn't have a partner. He needed to find someone he could pass off as his partner

Joe turned to Michelle and checked her out again. She was gorgeous and he knew Dale would agree. She would do just fine to pose as his girlfriend at this dinner, they would just offer her some money to keep quiet and if she became a problem he would just take her out. Joe would be sitting at another table as back-up for Dale if he needed.

Michelle knew from Joe's end of the conversation that he was going to meet with someone and maybe use her for something. She tried to learn more, "where are we going?"

Joe didn't even take his eyes off the road as he smacked Michelle across the side of her head. "Shut up, you don't speak unless I ask you too."

Michelle slid down into the seat. Her face was throbbing and a severe headache instantly set in. She hadn't even seen that coming, it was like he snapped. She already felt like she was in over her head, she cursed herself for ever even showing an interest in Field Ops. She felt hopeful the person on the other end of the phone had been Dale, if it was then the mission may end up being very successful, on the other side she almost hoped it wasn't Dale because then she really would be in trouble and probably very lucky to survive through what they had planned.

Tony slammed his fist into the desk. He had seen his hand fly across the camera and it was obvious Joe had hit Michelle. This guy was already being rough with her before anything had even happened. He knew this whole situation was too dangerous in the first place and should never have even been put together. Having someone pose as a hooker immediately put their life on the line. People like Dale Pault would never think twice about disposing of some prostitute. Hammond and Matthews were just so gun ho to bring this guy down that they were willing to risk anything, even Michelle.

Finally Joe pulled the car into a driveway. Michelle instantly recognised Dale Pault waiting at the front door. She couldn't believe she was already in his presence, just 25 minutes after being picked up by Joe. Joe told her to get out of the car, and she followed him up to the door. Dale looked her up and down but didn't say a word. The 3 of them walked into the house and sat in what looked like the lounge or living room. The house was amazing, very modern and Michelle figured it would have to be worth a couple million at least. Dale finally talked to her.

"Stand-up......turn around." Michelle felt like she was worthless as she turned around and stood in front of Dale and Joe so they could check her out. Dale seemed happy with what he saw.

"You got anything decent to wear?"

"Yeah."

"You will accompany me on a business dinner tomorrow night. I'll pay you well, I just want you to shut your trap unless someone asks you a question....think you can do that?"

"Yes sir. Who are we going to dinner with?"

"That doesn't concern you, that better be the last question you ask."

"I'm sorry, I understand."

Michelle knew she had to do everything to stay on the good side of Dale and Joe. The way they acted made her think about Tony. Tony was the sweetest most amazing guy she had ever met. So different from these two. She knew Tony cared deeply for her, but she was still unsure if he really wanted them to be more than friends. He had been more affectionate with her than he had ever been before, but he had also been angry with her and they had fought with each other all day. He was so special. They had never even had an argument before today. She missed him so much, she wished she was back on the bed with him holding her and kissing her tenderly on her neck.

They had started to discuss what they were going to do with Michelle now and until tomorrow night. They had to let her go home so she could make herself presentable. Even though Joe had picked her up to have his way with her, now that Dale was using her he didn't know how Dale would react – he was sure Dale already thought of the hooker as his own. They decided to let her leave now and have her come back at 5 the next day. Dale walked over to Michelle.

"It's time for you to leave, we will pick you up from the same place Joe met you tonight at 5pm tomorrow. You are not going to let me down with this are you?"

"No, I'll be there at 5pm, you can count on me."

Dale kept getting closer and closer to Michelle and she kept walking backwards until she ended up backed up against a wall. He was a very attractive man but his personality made him so ugly. The alcohol on his breath was overwhelming. He roughly put his hand on her chin and lifted her head so that she had to look at him.

"You certainly are my type of woman." He pushed her head back into the wall with his hand on her chin. It hurt like hell and she felt her entire body tense up, she felt petrified of what was coming.

Everybody at CTU gathered around the monitors to have a good look at Dale. A few of the women commented on how good looking he was, which made Tony cringe. He looked into Dale's eyes as he stared at his Michelle. He knew Dale was about to kiss her, he held his breath as he watched Dale move in and began to kiss Michelle. Unaware of Tony's feelings for Michelle his co-workers tried to lighten up the mood a little by joking that if Michelle had to be kissing someone undercover at least it was with such a handsome guy. Tony was jealous. Watching Dale still continuing to kiss Michelle and listening to the girls next to him talk about how attractive this guy was, Tony was so close to throwing the monitor across the room.

Dale ran his hands roughly across Michelle's chest. "Get on your knees."

Michelle couldn't go through with this. Just having to kiss him made her want to vomit. Her brain was trying to think of a way out of the situation but it came up with nothing. She wondered what the right thing to do in this situation was. Should she defend herself and then flee or should she give him what he wanted? Michelle felt disappointed with herself for not knowing what CTU would want her to do. She hoped she wasn't disappointing Tony.

Dale became frustrated that Michelle had ignored what he had said. "Are you deaf? I said get on your knees."

Michelle's body was frozen, she continued to stand there, she was still deciding what she was going to do. She was more than competent to defend herself in a fight. She had done many courses with CTU and was a skilled fighter. The problem was, she had no idea if he knew how to fight too. What if he had a weapon? He was so much bigger than her that if he was half way decent, he could probably beat Michelle with his size and power.

He wrapped his hands around her neck and bought his face in so it was just inches from hers. "I wouldn't disobey me if I were you, I don't take kindly to people not doing as they are told." He took her hands off her neck and Michelle gasped for air and coughed. Her body was so weak. He picked her up and threw her to the ground. Before Michelle even realised what was happening he had picked her up by her shoulders and forced her onto her knees.

He started to undo his belt when he was interrupted by his phone. He took it from his back pocket and answered the call. Michelle was mustering up every bit of strength she had to keep composed.

The mood at CTU had changed dramatically. Now the women were quietly crying for Michelle. It made each of them wonder how they would be coping if they were in Michelle's position. The focus was going in and out which meant Michelle must be swaying trying to keep herself up. Slowly the view moved further and further down Dale's leg as she was slowly collapsing. Dale's hand shot down and picked Michelle's body up by her collar. He had obviously made her get back on her knees. Nothing happened then, they figured he must still be on his phone.

Tony yelled at Hammond who was on the other side of the office, everyone stopped to watch and listen. "Do you see what is happening to Michelle? I told you this would happen. What the hell are we going to do? I am going to send in back-up now..."

"Don't Tony, we have never gotten this close to Pault before, and we are not ruining it now."

"What the hell about Michelle? We have to help her."

All the staff at CTU watched as Tony lost his cool. None of them had ever seen Tony so uptight and tense. It became obvious very quickly that Tony's feelings for Michelle were not just that of a co-worker

"Tony calm down, Michelle is a good agent she can look after herself."

"This is wrong – we are compromising Michelle to get Pault, there are other ways we could do that. Michelle is going to do anything to make this successful – you know that because it is her first field op. She doesn't deserve this, everyone here knows that."

"Tony, Michelle understood the risks when she agreed to the assignment...."

"Like you gave her a fucking choice Hammond, it was either the task or her job..."

Hammond took a few steps towards Tony and cut him off, he pointed his finger at him as he spoke. "Watch yourself Tony. I suggest you put your personal feelings for Michelle aside."

Tony kicked the chair as hard as he could sending it sliding across the floor.

Hammond felt sorry for Tony, he really respected him and his work ethics made him irreplaceable – he was the best in his field. After Nina, Tony had been so publicly ashamed and devastated he wondered if Tony would ever trust again. That was until Michelle had come onto the picture. They hit it off immediately and the chemistry between them was electric, yet as far as anyone knew Tony and Michelle had never taken their friendship to the next level. Watching Tony's reaction now though, he could see how deeply he must feel for her. Tony had never had trouble controlling his emotions at work. "Tony, are you ok to keep running tactical?"

"I am fine Brad, I am in charge of this mission." Tony went and picked up the chair returning it to it's original position.

Tony knew he had made a scene in front of everyone, he apologised for getting upset and then asked everyone to get back to work. He then called back-up and asked them to get as close to the house as possible.

On the monitor he could see Pault back away from Michelle and then disappear from the shot.

Dale was still talking to Santiago, he asked him to hold on for one moment as he told Michelle to get out and make sure she was there at 5pm. Again he stressed he would make it worth her while financially.

Michelle had never felt more relieved in her life. She couldn't believe her luck, she picked herself up and bolted out the front door before he had a chance to change his mind. She ran to the end of the street, she hoped someone would be here really soon to pick her up.

Tony had someone get to Michelle within 3 minutes. He felt like a load of bricks had been taken of his shoulders. She was battered up but at least she was in one piece and she was safe now, no more harm could come to her. Michelle didn't say a word during the ride back to CTU, she couldn't think straight and she knew as soon as she opened her mouth she would lose it and begin to cry.

Tony went down to the garage to meet Michelle as they arrived. Matthews and Hammond joined him much to Tony's disappointment. He wanted to be able to scoop her up in his arms but he couldn't with Matthews there now. They opened the door for her and Tony took her hand to help her out of the car. Michelle's heart skipped a beat when she saw Tony, she needed him so badly to hold her and make her feel important again. Matthews and Hammond congratulated Michelle for her work and promoted her on the spot. As of next week she would be taking over Leon's job. Michelle nodded her head and very quietly said thank-you.

Matthew's continued as they made their way back inside. "Tony will take you to medical Michelle. We will then need to go through what happened and what was said while it is still fresh in your mind."

Michelle kept her head down as she walked through the main floor, she could feel everyone's eyes on her. Just about everybody congratulated her and Michelle thanked each person and offered a small smile. Tony put his arm around Michelle and helped her up the stairs. They really hadn't said a word to each other yet, neither one of them had a clue what to say. The doctor wasn't there yet, he had been called in from home and would possibly be another 10 minutes or so. He closed the door and they were left alone in a room.

They fell straight into each other's arms. She held on to him as tight as she possibly could. She still needed to be closer to him, she bought both her arms to his chest and then pushed her body into his. Tony could tell she needed more so he tightened his hold on her, "I've got you, I've got you." She pulled back and they looked into each other's eyes, at the same time they desperately kissed each other. It was rough and intense. His hands moved to her cheeks so he could guide her face where he wanted it. He sucked on her bottom lip and forced his tongue into her mouth. She grabbed onto his neck and tried to pull him in even closer to her. He took his hands off her cheeks and moved them to her lower body and started to lift her up. As he pulled her up and into his body she wrapped her legs around his waist. Their lips didn't part for a second and Michelle put her hands around his neck and ran them through his hair. He was still holding Michelle as he walked the few steps to the bed. It was perfect height for him to put her down on it without them having to change positions. Now that his hands were free he was able to wrap his around her back again. As they both continually groaned and sighed, combined with their lips smacking against each other's as they tilted their heads from side to side they were very loud.

Eventually they pulled their lips apart to catch their breath. In between pants Tony asked, "Are you ok? How are you feeling?"

Michelle didn't know how to answer that. "I'm fine." Slipped out of her mouth without any thought.

He looked at her in shock. "Your fine? How can you be fine? I am NOT fine Michelle."

"What are you thinking Tony?"

He had a hand on each arm and he pulled back so he was arms length away. "Are you kidding me? I've been a mess, so upset and so furious."

"Furious?"

"Michelle, I just had to stand back and watch while you kissed another man, whilst hearing how attractive he is...."

"WHAT?? I didn't kiss him out of choice, and I certainly never ever said he was attractive." Michelle could not believe Tony was so angry that she had kissed him.

"Whether it was out of choice or not, you still kissed him, and I still had to watch that. That was the last thing I needed. I know you didn't say that, it was the girls here that were saying that if you had to be kissing someone like this undercover at least you got to kiss this guy who was so attractive."

Michelle was completely shocked by Tony. After everything she had just been through, he was going to throw Dale kissing her in her face. "It was the last thing you needed???" She just couldn't believe him. She pulled out of his grip, got off the bed and distanced herself from him.

"Let me get this straight, I'm dressed as a freaking hooker in some house I don't even know where with two very dangerous strangers. One of them nearly strangles me, smashes my head into the wall, pushes me around, sticks his tongue down my throat and then forces me onto my knees, if he hadn't got that phone call you know exactly what I was in for – and while all this is happening you guys are watching, commenting on how good looking this guy is, all the while you are getting angry with me for kissing him. What exactly did you expect me to do?"

"It wasn't like that Chelle....I hadn't finished saying everything. You have no idea how much it physically hurt me to watch you being hurt."

"I seriously can't believe you. Just think about all of what you have just said to me. I just can't believe you Tony."

"I can't help how I feel, and I couldn't control what other people said. I mean, that was the last thing in the world I needed to hear....."

"I've gotta get out of here." Michelle turned around to head for the door, she still felt unstable on her legs and now she was really light headed. Tony grabbed her by her arm.

"You can't leave Chelle, that is just one tiny part – we need to talk about everything..."

"Just let me go Tony..."

"No Michelle, you are not walking out on me."

Michelle couldn't argue with Tony anymore. She was sick of it, their friendship felt like it was taking such a massive beating today. She couldn't understand how he could be angry with her. If she hadn't kissed Dale she would have blown the whole thing. It was like he wanted to fight with her. She was so light-headed, everything kept going in and out of focus and she had to keep opening and closing her eyes to stop herself going dizzy. She tried to take another step but he kept holding her.

"You know what?....You don't get to be angry with me right now Tony. I want to leave."

Tony could see how unsteady Michelle was. Her eyes kept opening and closing and she had gone completely pale. She definitely needed to see the doctor.

"You are not going anywhere yo...."

"You can't tell me what I can or can't do. I'm not your girlfriend Tony....."

Tony looked like he had just had the wind punched out of him. He felt defeated and weak. They were both just staring at each other and Tony still had a firm grip on her arm. "You are right Michelle, I'm not your boyfriend but I am your boss and I am ordering you to stay. You need to be seen by the doctor. I want you to lie down."

Michelle was angry with him for pulling rank on her. She was so angry she was very close to walking out anyway. She knew she needed to lie down, she felt like she was about to pass out but she felt so stubborn to him right now. She wouldn't lie down simply because he had told her to. "I am not lying down."

"God Michelle all I am trying to do is make sure you are ok, why are you making it so hard?"

"Because I don't need you telling me what to do. I don't need you thinking that you know what is best for me. I don't need you to be angry with me for things out of my control.....and I certainly don't need you finding another reason to fight with me. I don't need any of this, have you got that? I DON'T NEED any of this from you!!"

"Well you certainly needed me 2 minutes ago. In fact in all the time I have known you, I have never seen you need me more. You held me so tightly, and I know, no matter what you say that you NEEDED me to hold you, and wrap my body around you. So how could you say all that?"

"Well trust me Tony if I knew what you were just about to say to me, I wouldn't have kissed you, I wouldn't have hugged you."

Tony was rubbing the side of his face with his free hand, the other was still holding her tight. "You can't mean that. I was being honest with you and telling you how I felt. Did you really believe it wouldn't bother me?"

Michelle was feeling worse and worse. He had her so worked up she had to keep telling herself to take deep breaths, even when she did that she still felt really light-headed. Feeling that way didn't calm her down any though. She yelled at him.

"What the hell did you want me to do? What do you want Tony? Do you want a damn apology from me or something? You want me to apologise to you for what happened to me tonight??"

"I don't know, its not you, it is the situation that I am so angry about. I'd never expect an apology from you."

Of course he didn't expect an apology. He didn't understand why she was so angry with him. If he had kissed another girl, he would hope Michelle would be angry. He wasn't angry with her, he was angry at the situation. He didn't understand why they were fighting over this. They were falling apart. What was happening to them? "Chelle please don't do this. Please. What about our kiss before? That was so much more than just a kiss – I don't know about you but I've never experienced anything so intense and passionate. I mean, it was like I couldn't get close enough to you....I thought things were finally really happening between us?"

"That's right Tony...what about the kiss? It wasn't just then though either – have you forgotten lying with me, pulling my body into yours and kissing my neck. What about when you kissed me for the very first time? What the hell did all that mean to you? How dare you do those things with me and then spend every other minute of the day angry or yelling at me. I just can't work you out, I can't even decide if you have feelings for me or if you were just trying to comfort me because of what I was about to have to do. Are you enjoying fighting with me? Do you even know what you want?"

"I know what I want, I always have. I'm just not good at announcing it, you of all people should know that. Hell yes I have been so damn angry for the last 24 hours, but all for damn good reasons – actually all for the one reason, my feelings for you Michelle. How could I forget the kiss and lying with you? Why do you think I am going crazy over everything else that's happening? You ran from me when I kissed you in my office, without letting me tell you how I felt. I keep getting interrupted or I screw it up and make you cry – Please I'm begging you now, cut me some slack so I can show you how I feel."

He was still holding her arm so he pulled her body in closer to his but she resisted and took steps back out of his reach. He felt sick, "Now I can't even touch you? I don't understand Chelle."

Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "You can't touch me because you keep confusing me and I'm not going to let you keep playing with and hurting me even more. You know what I understand Tony?....I understand that whilst I was in the middle of a situation that was scaring the life out of me, all I was thinking about was you. I was watching these 2 horrible, very frightening men and I was comparing them to you and how incredibly lucky I was to have you in my life. How you would never make me feel like they did. How you are the opposite of everything I hated about them. About just how special and amazing you are and how I didn't want to let you down. Then I find out that while I am thinking all of that, you were here with the rest of the office commenting on how lucky I was that he was good looking and on top of that you got angry with me because we kissed. None of you has a clue how that felt so how dare they say that and how dare you be furious with me for something that was already devastating enough for me."

Tony felt really bad, he had been really stupid to tell her what had been said and how he had felt. They were so pathetic and insignificant to what she was going through. Hearing her say it all like that made him realise how ridiculous and selfish he had been. Of course he would be angry, but not at Michelle and how he felt should not have been what was important right now. "Ohhh Chelle, I was so stupid, please come here, I've been so out of line – let me start again, please?" He took a couple steps towards her. He saw her become unstable and have to hold onto the side of the desk for support.

"Tony don't you realise that what I did tonight made me feel more worthless then I had ever felt in my entire life. I felt sick every time he touched me and so disgusting and cheap when he kissed me. He really hurt me Tony. I hate this, I can't win – if I bowed out then I would have failed the mission but by doing it I end up with you angry at me. It must have been so easy for the girls to sit here in the safe and warm making comments about me and Dale."

Tony stood with a long face. He loved her so much. She was the girl he wanted to marry and the spend the rest of his life with yet he was ruining it before they even had a chance. He had been so busy being angry at how the situation was affecting him, he had basically blocked out how things were affecting her. His night had been a walk in the park compared to Michelle's. His voice was soft and broken. "I don't even know what to say Chelle....."

Michelle was nodding her head. "You know, it's probably better if we just keep things exactly how they are. All of this is ripping us apart. Do you realise we had never ever had a single argument before today? All we have done is yell at each other for almost 24 hours now. If things are this messy after last night, there is no way we could handle tonight. Tonight will probably be way too much for the both of us......"

Michelle was in the middle of her sentence when things started to go black, she stopped talking and tried to take a deep breath but that didn't help.

Tony was watching Michelle and could see what was happening, he lunged forward and caught her body as she passed out and her body went to fall to the floor.

**Thanks for reading!! I hope you like this story so far. I really appreciate if you have the time to let me know what you think so far. If you don't like it - please tell me why. Thanks!!**


	5. chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5:**

Tony carried Michelle over to the bed. She woke before he reached the bed. He gently laid her down. They looked into each other's eyes, but neither of them said anything.

Michelle started to sit up. Tony put his hand on her shoulder, "Please Chelle, you need to lie down for a little bit."

"I'm ok, really I am. All I want to do is tell you guys what was said last night and then go home."

Tony could see in Michelle's eyes that she was desperate to get out of here. He knew too, that it was his fault she felt like that. He leaned into her and gently laid her back down, she didn't resist him at all. He kept his face close to hers, she was watching him. "I'm so sorry. I am completely and utterly in love with you Chelle. I am just so sorry I have been such a fool."

Michelle thought she must have hit her head. Did he really say that? "Tony, did you just say what I think you said?"

Tony stroked the side of her face softly. "I sure did, I should have said it a long time ago. That's why I've been so out of line Chelle, I have been freaking out that I am going to lose you, yet all I have managed to do is hurt you. If only words could express just how much I love you." He didn't flinch or look away, he looked her straight in the eyes. It was time to put himself out there and concentrate on fixing all the damage he had caused with Michelle.

"Ohh Tony..." She covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes began to water a little.

Tony shook his head. "You don't have to say anything. I expect nothing. I just had to tell you. I want you to know why I have been freaking out so much, why I couldn't bare you to do the mission – I was petrified I would lose you. It's why I went nuts over the girls saying Dale was attractive and then the fact that you had to kiss him. I'm not angry with you Chelle for that, I never was – I was and still am so angry with him and the situation. I have been an absolute idiot since yesterday morning and I am so incredibly sorry."

Michelle covered her mouth again, "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God." She lifted her body up. She put her hand onto his chest and held on to him. "I didn't think you would ever see me as more than a friend."

"Are you kidding me? From the second I met you I knew there was something was special about you. All year I've just fallen deeper and deeper for you."

Michelle was tightly gripping his shirt and their faces were so close. "Tony, I can't believe this. I always wanted....Tony, I love you too."

"Are you serious Michelle? Do you mean that? Are you really in love with me?" Everything was running through his mind a million times a second. He knew her answer would completely change his life from this moment on. He desperately searched her eyes for an answer.

"I am so scared Tony. I really am in love with you but you hurt me so much, and I don't know how much of what you said - you meant. The pain of all of this is almost too much for me, what if you're not sure? Or you change your mind? I don't want you to hurt me Tony."

Tony reached his arms around Michelle and pulled her in closer to him. He tucked her loose hair behind her ear and then he put his hands on her cheeks. "My beautiful Michelle, I'll do everything I can to make this all up to you. If you will let me, I'll explain everything to you later." He let go of her and climbed onto the bed, pulling her right into him. "Chelle I have never been more sure of anything in my life. – I am so in love with you, there is nothing in the world that could make me change my feelings for you. Give me a chance to make you happy. The kiss we had when you got back from the mission that was the most intense and passionate kiss I'd ever even imagined. It was so special and amazing. You and I make sense Chelle. We would make a perfect couple, I know just how right you are for me. I won't hurt you, I'll spend every single day trying to make you as happy as you make me."

He could have gone on for hours. They were both leaning on the wall behind the bed and they were turned in facing one another. Michelle lifted her hands to reach for him but then she hesitated and bought them back down. He didn't make a move, he wasn't going to push her. He watched her begin to nod her head, his heart started to race....She lifted her hand up again and this time Tony took it in his. She looked up at him and smiled, "I need you Tony."

He returned her smile. "Does that mean you want to give me a go?"

"It sure does – if you will have me."

He leaned in towards her and put his hand on her cheek. "Oh, I'll have you......come here." They sweetly brushed their lips over each other. Michelle slightly opened her mouth and Tony kissed her bottom lip. The continued to kiss very softly and slowly. Tony spoke while his lips were still lightly pressed against hers. "You just made me the luckiest man in the world." Michelle smiled, making it hard to kiss, she started giggling, which then in turn made him giggle too. They pulled back and looked into each other's eyes while they both giggled.

There was a knock at the door and then Matthews and Hammond walked in. "Sorry Michelle, the doctor we called had to turn around to an emergency call at the hospital. That's why you have been waiting so long. One of us will take you into a hospital to be checked up, ok?" Matthews could tell they had interrupted something.

"I don't need a doctor now, I really am ok. I was light-headed before but I just needed to lie down for a few minutes. I'm fine. I just want to head home and get some sleep."

"We need you to tell us anything important that you heard last night. Anything that helps us get closer to him?"

"I didn't hear anything. Although I do know he has a very important business dinner meeting at 7pm. It sounds like a very big deal to him, I got the feeling a deal was taking place."

"How do you know all this Michelle? Were they talking about it in front of you? Do you know where it is?"

Before Michelle could answer Matthews jumped it. "Imagine after all this time, we got a chance to bust him tonight!"

Michelle filled them in. "Dale offered to pay me very well to accompany him to this dinner as his partner tonight. He would pick me up at 5 from the same place as last night. Whoever he is meeting said they were bringing their partner and Dale didn't want it to be awkward for him not to have anyone. He told me to just shut-up and only speak when spoken too."

They all looked like they were going to fall over. Hammond got in first. "Michelle, you got an in? Do you understand what this means? This is unbelievable! Tony could you get audio on this?"

"Audio is a piece of cake in these types of situations. You would need tracking for locations."

Michelle slid off the bed, she was going to go and find her clothes she was wearing before the mission to change into. She was getting cold. "It will never work though. I mean, no way could anyone pose as me to them and not get caught."

Matthews took a few steps towards Michelle. "What are you talking about Michelle? Why would we need someone too pose when we have you?"

Michelle looked horrified at them all. There was no chance she was going back into that situation again. "Are you guys serious? There is no way you would expect me to go back to them, right? I'll be back, I've gotta change."

The 3 men watched Michelle walk out the door. Hammond turned to Tony and Matthews, "we really need Michelle to do this. Never do you get opportunities like this handed to you on a silver platter. Tony you guys seemed very close when we came in, I'm not worried about an office relationship – what was going on between you guys?"

"I told Chelle that I was in love with her, and she returned it. We have committed to each other. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me."

"You are going to be the best one to get her to come around then Tony. It's already 8am now, we have next to no time. I'll call in alternate shifts and get local enforcements prepped."

Tony was feeling very uneasy. "Hang on – we need to wait until we know what Michelle is going to do. I sure as hell don't want her to do it. She is not going to understand why I kicked up such a fuss yesterday about this and then today I am telling her to do it again."

"Tony, you no damn well that your feelings for Michelle can play no part of any of this?"

"Please Brad, I can't lose this girl. I'll do anything, please just keep Michelle out of this. Come on Brad..."

"Tony, Michelle is our only shot at this guy right now. We will do everything possible to keep her safe. I hate having to do this Tony, but I am giving a direct order – Michelle has to do this operation to keep her position here."

Tony was furious, "Are you seriously going to pull that shit on her again? You are giving her no respect and I'd be prepared she might walk. She hasn't even slept yet, you guys have to cut her some slack."

Michelle walked back into the room. She looked adorable to Tony, she had pulled on a CTU office t-shirt and it was about 5 sizes to big then over top of that a big jumper that wasn't as long as the t-shirt. Tony asked Michelle to come over and sit on the bed with him. She looked at him nervously and didn't move. Hammond knew why. "It's ok Michelle, we know about you two. We think it is great."

"Wow.....ok thanks."

Michelle got up on the bed and snuggled next to Tony. She found herself thinking about how lucky she was. She had always wanted to be able to go to Tony like this. He looked nervous and very red in the face. "Tony are you ok?"

Tony took Michelle's hand in his. "No, I am not ok Chelle. We really need you to do this operation.. I will run it and we will keep you as safe as possible."

Michelle just sat there for a few moments until she found her tongue. "Please don't make me do this Tony. Please. I'll do anything else, anything – just don't make me go back to them. You know exactly what he will want me to do."

"You know if I had it my way Chelle you would be home right now wrapped up in my arms."

"Are you ordering me or asking me to do this?"

Tony looked miserable. "Chelle I am ordering you."

Michelle just nodded her head. She knew the order had come from Hammond, not Tony. "I have to go home then and get appropriately dressed, I'll be back later." Hammond and Matthews gave her a smile but she didn't return this one. Hammond tried to comfort Michelle as she walked over to pick up her bag. "We will look after you Michelle, Tony is in charge and he will have everything covered."

"What about the 2hrs before the dinner? Who's covering that? I am assuming once again that my job is on the line for this?"

Michelle's words were met with silence. She stayed and waited for an answer. Matthews ended up being the first to offer one. "Michelle, we will track you, with the camera as well. Back up will be as close as possible. We don't have any other options, we do need you to do this."

Tony walked over to Michelle, put his arms around her and led her out of the room into an empty office a couple rooms down. He sat her down on the couch. "You don't have to do this Michelle."

"Yes I do Tony, they will fire me and probably you too for putting me up to it."

Tony took Michelle's hands in his. "Yeah probably, you would be safe though."

"What are you saying Tony? You'd give up your job for me? No way. No way, you couldn't do that." Michelle got up and walked over to the desk.

Tony walked up behind Michelle and slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Chelle the job is nothing compared to you. All I care about is being with you. God all I have wanted since the day we met is you......nothing will ever be worth risking that."

Michelle turned around in his arms and ran her hand on his cheek. "You.......you are amazing. What would we do though? I mean all we know is this job. I've got to make rent...."

Tony put his finger up to her lips, "I've got savings, I'll take care of you.....we both certainly have credentials to get other jobs. Maybe I could even take you away for awhile first?"

Michelle put her arms around his neck and pulled him in to her for a kiss. She pressed her lips gently against his. Her body felt so weak when she was so close to him. She felt him wrap his arms around her and then he pressed his body into her. He felt so amazing. She thought about the last year and all the times she had wished she could be this close to him. Having his body wrapped around her felt even better than she had imagined. She eventually pulled her lips apart from his.

"As much as I couldn't think of anything better than you and I away together - just the 2 of us, we can't do that Tony. You are the most beautiful person for offering all this up for me, but I can't let you do it. I know how hard you worked to be where you are Tony, you can't just give that up. You are so good at what you do, and lots of people depend on you. We can't just walk out in the middle of a mission – if he gets away so many more people will end up hurt or dead.....I can't have that on my shoulders. I am going to drag you away for some time off and a holiday, but I just can't have you walk away from all this."

"But Chelle, what about you? I couldn't handle it if something happened to you. I'm not prepared to risk you...."

"That's why I need you to run this operation for me. You are the best, and the one I trust. Let's just get through this Tony, and then we can put it behind us. We can take the next couple days off....and maybe I'll let you take me on a date!"

Hammond walked into the office. Instinctively Tony and Michelle jumped apart from each other. "Sorry to interrupt. I just....I need to know if you are on board. Please don't think I don't understand how hard this is on you both, I do. Its just there is a team of people who really need you guys and you are the best we have."

Michelle looked at Tony who had his head down. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Yes, I am on board."

Tony lifted his head and stepped forward. "I want extra agents out on back-up. I am closing in the back-up distance by a mile. I am going to select the floor staff I want, I want 2 agents undercover at the restaurant and the next couple of days off for both Michelle and I."

Hammond didn't need to think, these were easy demands, and he expected most of them anyways. "Done. Now I suggest both of you try and get some sleep. We need you both back here by 4pm." He turned and left before either of them demanded anything else.

Before they left Tony put in his positions and marks he would need the staff to prepare for him during the day. They headed to the car park together. Tony wanted to have Michelle come with him but he didn't know if she would want that or not.

When they reached the doors to the car park, Michelle asked Tony. "I don't want to be apart from you today Tony. Can we nap together?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way. How about we take my car, swing past your house and grab your stuff and then head back to mine?"

Michelle agreed that was a good idea. Tony held Michelle's hand as they drove. It took them 45 minutes to go to Michelle's and get back to Tony's. They were both exhausted. Tony started to head towards his bedroom but then noticed that Michelle was hanging back near his couch.

"Do you want me.......should I just sleep here?"

Tony didn't respond, instead he walked over to her, took her hand and led her through to his bedroom. Neither really knew what to say, for the first time ever they felt awkward with each other. They both stood next to the bed smiling shyly.

Out of nowhere Tony just started laughing. Michelle had no idea what was going on. "What's so funny?"

"Us Chelle. Look how weird and nervous we are around each other now. I mean usually you can't shut us up."

Michelle had to laugh too. "I know! I guess you make me nervous."

Tony walked over to Michelle and put his arms around her waist and lent his face in close to hers. "What can I do to relax your nerves?"

Michelle giggled shyly. "I....I...d..don't know."

Tony kissed her tenderly on the lips and then pulled his head back to look into her eyes. She put her finger up and gently traced his lips. He moved his body around her so that he was now standing behind her with his arms still around her waist.

"I can't believe how good and comfortable I feel in your arms Tony." She giggled as she spoke, "I feel so safe in your big strong arms!"

He tucked the hair away from her ear and began to speak in a strong voice. "I'll always look after you Chelle, keep you safe and happy. You don't need to worry about anything because I am going to take care of you. No one will ever hurt you again I promise."

She closed her eyes for a moment soaking in the feeling. "I wish..."

Tony started to feel a little concerned. "Why do you say that? Don't you believe me?"

"I do feel safe with you Tony but you can't protect me from getting hurt again." Her words hung in the air. He knew she was talking about tonight and he hated that he couldn't say or do anything to help her. He pulled her in closer.

"Are you scared Chelle?"

She nodded her head. A couple quiet tears made their way down her cheeks, she was glad he was standing behind her so he wouldn't be able to know she was crying. One of her tears fell and splashed on his arm. He hadn't realised she was crying, it made his sigh loudly. He nuzzled his face into her neck pressing his eyes firmly into her almost trying to block the tears. "It's going to be ok, you have to be ok."

"I'm scared this will be the last time I will get to be in your arms."

Tony tightened his grip on her and pulled her in so their bodies were pressed in as close to each other as possible. "Don't you say that, don't you dare say that. Please Chelle, you can't think like that." He kissed her neck firmly over and over. "Just you watch, you are coming home with me tonight."

Michelle nodded her head again. "Thanks Tony." She rubbed her hands up and down his arms in a gesture to show him that she would be ok. He wanted her to gorget about everything else for a while and just get some rest. They would never get through tonight if they didn't sleep. "Are you ready to sleep Chelle?"

"Yeah, I know I need to, so do you."

He loosened his grip on her and began to gently kiss her shoulder. "What do you sleep in?" He kept kissing her as he waited for her answer.

"Usually I sleep in a t-shirt. Can I borrow one of yours?"

Tony smiled as he continued to kiss her. Without breaking the kisses he leaned his arm back behind him and pulled a t-shirt out of his top drawer. He bought it round in front of her, holding it up. "How's this one?"

"Perfect." Michelle went to grab it but Tony pulled his hand back behind her.

"Here let me help you...." Tony moved his hands down to the bottom of her shirt and slowly lifted her top up. They both held their breath as the top got further up her body. She lifted her arms up over her head allowing him to pull the top over her head. He dropped the shirt onto the floor and then ran his hands across her bare back and then slid his hands around to her front across her chest. They both groaned.

"Chelle I am going to be very good and control myself because you really need to sleep."

Michelle let out a small laugh. Tony took of his own shirt and then pressed his bare chest into her back. He leaned his chin on her shoulder. "You don't sleep in your bra, right?"

"Ummm....no."

Tony could tell be her voice that she felt shy or nervous. "Don't be nervous Chelle, I promised you I'd be good right now so you can sleep. It's just so nice to finally be so close to you. I don't want to let go."

"I don't want you to let go either. Do you mind if I sleep in here with you?"

"I wouldn't let you sleep anywhere else right now." He used both his hands to unclip her bra and take it off. He stayed good to his word but he felt mesmerised by her body and it took all of his will power to not run his hands all over her. Instead he kissed her shoulder and neck desperately. Things only got harder when Michelle raised one of her hands up and around his neck to play with his hair. Having her body stretched out in his arms made his whole body feel weak. He knew it wasn't just attraction or lust he was feeling, he was so deeply in love with her it felt more like a need to be close to her. He let out a very short sound, almost like a cry in frustration. He wrapped his arms around her stomach and kept her back pressed tightly into his stomach and chest. "I am so in love with you Chelle, my whole body has gone weak. I really need you in my life, I need to be as close to you as possible. You just make me so happy."

Michelle placed her hands over Tony's and locked her fingers in his. She then slid their hands up to her chest. Once Tony had put her in his hands she let go of his so that he could take control. She then ran both of her arms up and around his neck. "You are everything to me Tony, you are the most important person in my life and have been for a long time. I am so in love with you and I can't describe how happy I am that you feel the same way back."

Tony held her firmly and kissed all along her shoulder up her neck. "God you are so beautiful..."

After a couple of minutes he brought his hands back down and grabbed the t-shirt. He stood back a little so that he could slid the shirt over her arms and head, down over her body. It was huge on her and came to just above her knees. He whispered into her ear, "Thank you."

She turned around in his arms so that she was facing him. She spent a few moments taking in his body running her hands all over his stomach and chest. She couldn't believe how toned and muscly he was. She caught eyes with Tony who was giggling at her, she figured probably because he had caught her just staring at him with her mouth wide open. "Sweetheart are you just sleeping in your boxers?"

Tony's face just lit up and a huge smile spread across it, he nodded his head, almost like he was going to struggle with words. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Its nothing....well it is...its just....I felt so good....you. Sorry I'll start again." They both laughed. "It is just that you called me 'sweetheart'. Might sound silly to you but it just felt so unbelievably nice to have you refer to me like that."

"You really are my sweetheart." Michelle watched his face as she undid his belt and began to pull his pants down. She could tell he was holding his breath and it was like he was trying not to watch her but he couldn't help it. "I'll be good cause we need to sleep sweetie, but I'll tell you what....next time you had better watch out."

Tony began to take her pants down as well. "Baby, I'm going to hold you to that." They swapped cheeky smiles and then slid their own pants off their feet. Tony jumped into bed and patted the mattress next to him. Michelle crawled up into his body, he felt so warm and she new for the first time in a long time she would be able to sleep. Tony began to set his alarm clock, "If I set it for 3, does that give you enough time to shower and be ready to leave by 10 to 4?"

"Sure does."

He turned the lamp off and snuggled his body into hers. They both lay silently for a moment. Tony had to get something off his chest though. "Things feel just perfect Chelle, but none of it makes up for how I've acted in the last 24 hours. I was such a jerk to you, to think all because I didn't have the guts to be completely honest about how I felt. Now seeing how it has all worked out, I am disappointed with myself for the way I acted. I am so sorry."

"Don't be sorry Tony. I wasn't much better. Lets just concentrate on looking forward, ok?"

"I don't deserve it.....but thanks gorgeous. Now get some sleep."

They shared a soft kiss before shutting their eyes and dreaming about each other.

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	6. chapter 6

The alarm shook them both out of a deep sleep. Once Michelle got her head straight and realized why she had to get up and what she was going to do she jumped out of bed and began getting ready. Tony got her a couple towels and then while she showered he made them both some sandwiches. He jumped into the shower after Michelle for 5 minutes and then pulled his clothes on. It was a rush but they were both ready and on the road by 10 to 4.

They shared a quick kiss in the car before they headed into CTU. Once inside the split to take care of their own duties. It felt like no time had passed at all when at 20 to 5 TJ came to take Michelle.

It was horribly hard for Michelle and Tony to say good-bye to each other and even more horrible that they had the whole office staring at them. Tony gave her a tight hug and they told each other they loved one another and then kissed quickly but sweetly on the lips. Tony watched her leave until she had completely vanished from his sight.

Michelle rounded the corner and made her way to the same spot. As she walked a car pulled up beside her and she realized it was Joe. He signaled for her to jump in, her legs were barely into the car when he took off giving her a huge fright. He just looked at her laughed.

"So what's your name doll face?"

"You can call me Lexi, that's what my friends call me."

He didn't respond and they spent the rest of the trip in complete silence. Michelle just stared straight out the front window, trying to work out where they were going but it was hard to concentrate when she could feel his eyes drilling into her. They pulled into a driveway that she did not recognize, and the house was huge. She had a feeling it would have been Dale's house just by the look of it. He gruffly told her to get out of the car, which she did and then preceded to follow him up the path to the front door.

Everyone left in the office at CTU was glued to the screen. Everybody sat with their headsets on ready to go. Tony was fidgety, clicking the pen and repeatedly taping his foot. He had Michelle's location pin pointed exactly and it turned out she was not too far from CTU. If this was Dale's house they had arrived at it made him sick to think how long they had been chasing him and for him to end up right under their nose was a real slap in the face.

Michelle followed Joe in the front door and down a hall to a living room. Her heart flipped as she walked in to find another 7 people in the room. She searched for Dale but couldn't see him, all of a sudden she felt hands on her shoulder making her jump. She spun around to find Dale. He smiled, pushed her against the wall and began kissing her. Michelle had to return the kiss, which repulsed her. She doubted he had actually showered or brushed his teeth since she had last seen him.

Tony's fists clenched and he grinded his teeth. He felt close to throwing the monitor across the room. It felt like forever before Dale pulled himself off Michelle. Tony watched intently to see what happened next. He could see that he had turned Michelle around so she was facing everyone in the room. He told his staff to see who or what they could find on the other people. Then one of the younger men of the group stood up right in front of Michelle and started screaming. Tony couldn't figure out what was going on. Everyone in the office jumped a million miles an hour when one of the girls, Jade, screamed and ran out of the room. Tony sent Casey after Jade to find out what it was all about.

Back on the screen Tony could now see Dale, the young man and someone else all facing Michelle and they were arguing. All of a sudden the view dropped down fast as is Michelle had been pushed over. Then the device linked to the camera started to beep and before he had time to do anything the entire monitor turned black – they had completely lost the image from Michelle. Tony started hollering at everyone to figure out what the hell was going on. Each department reported back to Tony that the problem wasn't on their end, it must have been from Michelle's end.

Tony sent back up in immediately, they all called in their positions - the closest would be at target destination in 4-5 minutes. As Tony was directing back up, the light on the tracking device turned off – just like that, they had completely lost all forms of contact with Michelle. He still had their address pin pointed so he continued to direct them there even though he knew no one would still be there by the time his team made it.

Michelle had turned with Dale to look at everyone else in the room. One of the younger guys had jumped up immediately screaming she was a cop. Michelle's stomach had dropped. She couldn't work out how this kid new anything about her. Dale asked the kid how he knew that and that's when Michelle's whole world came crashing down. It turns out the boy was the younger brother of one of her colleagues at work Jade. He had met Michelle when his sister had taken him into work one afternoon. The second he said it, Michelle remembered him. It was only a matter of minutes Michelle figured until they killed her.

One of Dale's men smashed Michelle over the back of her head. They searched her entire body for anything that could have been a tracking device. They ripped her earrings straight out of her ears instead of taking them out properly. Blood streamed down Michelle's neck to her shoulders. They tore all of her jewelry off her body and then threw everything including her shoes into the fire. She had then been flung over someone's shoulder as they all made their get-away.

Casey came out screaming for Tony. He rushed to meet up with her along with Hammond.

"They know Michelle is from CTU, they know!" Casey was hysterical.

Hammond kept calm. "How do you know this Casey?"

"Because one of the guys we just watched on the monitor is actually Jade's brother. He met Michelle a little while ago when he came in with Jade one day."

Tony finally talked, he directed his attention to the men. "Before the camera shut off, we saw a young man stand up and start yelling at Michelle, then it looked like a lot of them were yelling. Michelle's camera view then dropped to the floor before it completely shut off. As soon as they realized she was an agent they would have stripped her completely looking for wires or devices."

Matthews yelled over to Tony and Hammond that back up had arrived and was entering the house. Tony ran back to his station and put his head set on so he could communicate with Tray, the man leading CTU and local police in back up. Tray had some agents go through the back, some through the sides and the rest through the front. Tony held his breath as he waited for Tray to tell him what they had found.

"Ummm Tony, the house is empty, no one is here. I am so sorry Tony."

Tony couldn't comprehend what he had heard. He shouted so loudly anyone in a 2-block radius would have heard him. "CHECK AGAIN. IT CANT BE EMPTY, IT CAN'T BE. LOOK AGAIN.....NOW!!" Tony felt like his entire world had just come crashing down. He still tried to wait in hope for Tray to come back and say they had found her.

"I am just so sorry Tony. We have gone through the place over and over, nobody is here. What do you want us to do?"

"Just come back to the office."

Tony dropped to the ground. He thought he was going to vomit. They now had no way of communicating with Michelle. She could be anywhere. Matthews and Hammond approached Tony. Hammond put his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"We are sorry Tony. We need you now though Tony.....we have to start looking for Michelle, the more time we waste, the further away they will get with her...."

Tony stood up and looked Hammond squarely in the eye. "This is your fault, if you hadn't threatened her with her job she wouldn't have gone. Barely half an hour into the operation we lost her, how the fuck did this happen?"

"I know you are frightened and upset Tony...."

"UPSET?! UPSET?! Don't you dare tell me how I am feeling. You just think for a moment what they would be doing right now to Michelle. We were supposed to protect her. She trusted us Hammond and we completely let her down."

"We didn't let her down. She understood that it was hard for us to protect her in the first 2 hours. Come on Tony, lets start looking for them – screaming at each other is not going to help us find Michelle."

Tony pushed pass Matthews and Hammond and headed to the tech rooms. He had agents sort through all locations and information they had on everyone involved to see if they could come up with any ideas they may have gone. He had all local enforcements as well as 2 of his teams head out looking for the car the matched the number plate Michelle had gotten the night before. He also called immigration and sent them ID's so that they could alert their staff at the border for Canada and Mexico not to let anyone in Paults gang leave the country. He also had the same information sent to the airports with strict instructions not to let them onto any flight, not just international but also domestic.

He had Jade brought into his office so that he could talk to her about her brother. She still had tears streaming down her face. Tony understood she had just been through a huge shock too and so he needed to be gentle with her. She began weeping to Tony.

"God Tony I am so sorry. You have to believe me I had no idea Jason was mixed up in any kind of trouble. I never knew I swear...."

Tony cut her off and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey hey, Jade it's ok – of course I believe you. You are not responsible for your brother's actions."

"But Tony, I should have known. How could I not have known? Now Michelle is missing.... probably dead..."

Tony felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He took his hand off her shoulder and backed off. "Don't say that, she's not d..d.....she can't be....she's n..." He couldn't even bring himself to say the word.

Jade stood up and started talking over Tony. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. Michelle will be ok, she is such a good agent."

"It's alright." Tony sat in his chair and sunk his head. He really didn't think he could handle any of this.

"I know you like her Tony, everyone in the office always thought you would be such a good couple."

Tony looked up at Jade. "I am in love with her. We just got together today. Can you believe that? I've barley had her for a day and this happens." Tears started welling in his eyes. "I mean, I've just wanted to hold her in my arms for like a year and I finally got that chance today and it was better than anything I could have ever imagined. How could this happen to us?"

"I don't know Tony, but you can't give up – you know how good Michelle is, she will be ok. You have to stay strong so you can direct the operation to find her.....we need you."

"I am trying. I think the best place for us to start is seeing what we can find out through your brother. Where does he live? Does he have a cell phone?"

"Yes and yes. I could try and phone him with some kind of excuse to meet me. He knows I've been having trouble with my boyfriend lately, maybe I could say we split up and I really need him."

Tony felt relieved that they had such a close contact into Paults group through Jade. It gave him a little bit of hope. "That's a good idea Jade. Once you have him we can press him for as much information as possible. Can we do this now?"

"Ok sure. I'll be back in a few minutes."

While he waited for Jade he did the rounds of all his staff to get an update on how they were going. Not one person had a good lead. He sent a few more agents into the house they had raided to sort through everything and try and find anything that would help them.

Jade reported back to Tony that she had gotten a hold of her brother and although he had been extremely hesitant he had agreed to meet her at her apartment. Tony had a couple agents follow Jade, he wasn't taking chances on anything.

One of the men dropped Michelle's body on the floor and handcuffed her to the bed both with her arm and then another one on her ankle. Dale and Joe stood over her discussing how bad things could have been if they had taken her to the dinner. It was 6:30 now and Dale had to leave for his meeting. He wanted Joe to keep an eye on Lexi (Michelle) but no matter what happened, she wasn't to be killed – Dale was going to use her as a bargaining tool. He had let Jason go see his sister, Jason figured she hadn't been into work today so she had no idea of what was happening. Either way she wouldn't know he was involved and maybe he could use her to find out what was happening at CTU. Before Jason had told him his sister worked at CTU with Michelle, Dale had never even heard of the Counter Terrorist Unit. He went to his meeting.

As soon as Jason arrived at Jade's apartment she had the 2 agents that she had with her help her take him into CTU. Once he realized what was going on he started screaming and swearing at Jade. He fought with the agents but they were both too powerful for him. Jade followed them back to CTU. She cried the entire way back, she was so close to her brother it was hard for her to believe she didn't know he was mixed up in such a horrible crowd.

Matthews interrogated Jason while Tony, Hammond, Casey and Jade watched through the 2-way mirror. Usually it would be Tony who interrogated Jason but everyone felt Tony would show too much emotion at this point. Tony's chest felt so tight he could barely breath. He felt so much anger towards Hammond and Matthews for making Michelle do the mission, it was hard to look at them and not throw a punch. More than anything though he was angry at himself – he should never have let her go, they could have left CTU together. They may have been unemployed but at least they would have been safe and happy together.

Unfortunately Jason was very new to the gang and had only ever been to the house the police had raided. At least that's what he said. Jason lied to Hammond saying that when they all evacuated the house he had left them and gone home. They all felt like he was holding more information back so they kept him in holding.

It was 7am and CTU had not heard or found anything. Everyone kept telling Tony to go home and get some sleep but he refused. The thought of going back to the bed he and Michelle had just slept in together was too hard to even comprehend. He felt so lonely and like there was a huge hole in his heart. He was wearing the leather jacket she had bought him and he had carried her card on him all night. He took her organizer and laid on one of the beds at CTU. Everyone kept one of these organizers at work, they could detail each project they worked on and track it all by dates. He flipped through the book to find today's date. He stared at yesterday's page for his birthday. She had drawn little love hearts around his name and had written in where she wanted to take him to lunch. She had doodled his name a few times over the page. For a brief moment his heart felt warm looking at it all. It showed that she really cared for him. He felt like such a fool, he had wasted all this time – he could have asked her out months ago. He curled his body up into a ball and closed his eyes. He spent hours lying there completely awake unable to fall asleep because he couldn't stop thinking about what was happening, eventually out of sheer exhaustion he drifted into light sleep for a couple of hours.

By 2pm Hammond and Matthews were back from going home for some sleep and a lot of Tony's staff had chosen to work over-time because they cared about Michelle and wanted her back. Every hour that passed though the hope of finding Michelle alive become smaller and smaller. Although Tony had never been more devastated in his life, he had the smallest feeling in his gut that Michelle was still alive. He couldn't work out if the feeling meant something and was true or if it was hope. He had walked into an office without knocking that Matthews and Hammond were in and before the noticed Tony he heard them discussing that they both believed Michelle was dead. Tony yelled at them and told them to use the energy they had to talk that way about Michelle into finding her. It made him so mad that people had given up hope so quickly.

At 8pm all the shifts changed again and the nighttime agents came in. One of the agents bought in with him a package that had been left out the front. It was simply addressed to the director CTU. Upon opening it Tony found a videotape was a small typed note stuck to the side:

To the director,

I'm sure you miss your agent. I have Michelle Dessler and if you want her back then we need to negotiate.

Tony put the videotape into the machine and turned the volume up very high. Everybody had gathered around to watch it. The note had given Tony a new ray of hope. She must be alive if they want to do a swap with her. He promised himself whatever it was, he would make it happen – no matter what he would be taking her home with him.

The video started out with a shot of Michelle lying on the ground handcuffed. Her eyes were closed and she did look dead. Her ears were both bloody and she had a very bad black eye. Tony's heart broke a little more. He was in actual real physical pain because he was so distraught over Michelle.

Then Dale Pault came onto the picture. It was a close-up from his upper chest to the top of his head. He looked directly down the camera as he spoke.

"My brother Mason is in jail for murder. He has already served 12 years but he still has another 11 years to serve before he is eligible for parole. This is all very simple, you have Mason released and we will return Michelle. If Mason is not released I can assure you Michelle will die a very slow and painful death. If my demand is not met by 5pm tomorrow night she will die. I will be contact with you in the morning to advise on drop off and pick up locations.

The video then cut to Michelle. They had her sitting up now leaning back against the wall. Her arms were bloody and dirty along with her ears and cheeks. She was extremely pale and they could actually tell that she was shaking. She was an absolute mess and Tony could see the sheer terror in her eyes. He wanted to dive through the screen and hold her. Michelle spoke a few words in the quietest shakiest voice they had ever heard. "I'm ok, I am so sorry."

That was the end of the tape. Casey said exactly what Tony was just thinking. "So typical Michelle – trying to tell us she is alright so we don't worry even though it is obvious she is not. I am not surprised at all that she apologized – Michelle would never point the finger, rather she would just take the blame herself."

Everybody agreed with Casey, but then everyone started to disagree once they began discussing what they were going to do. Tony told everyone to calm down and then he sent everyone out of the room that didn't have to be there. Once that was done they were left with Hammond, Matthews, Alberta green and Chappelle who had arrived from division a couple hours ago to help out. "Hammond, who would I need to ask to speak to at the jail?"

"Hang on a minute Tony, we don't know what we are going to do yet."

"What do you mean Brad?"

Hammond used his hand as he spoke to motion Tony to sit back down again. "Tony it is going to be near impossible to have this guy released. I can't see the President allowing a pardon because that would be negotiating, something the American government doesn't do."

"I know Brad but surely this is different being that Michelle is a government agent. We need to speak to the jail and get more information on his brother and then we can go to the President."

"I'm not quite sure I completely agree with having this man released...."

Tony was beginning to lose his patience with Hammond. "How the hell can you say that?"

Brad cut Tony off. "He is in jail for murder Tony, we need to think about how many people we would be putting in danger by having him released. We need to put all the facts we have together and then we can work on our solution."

Michelle heard the footsteps leave the room giving her some short-lived relief. She allowed her body to relax for a few moments. Her body was very tight and tense making it difficult to loosen up at all. She was surprised with herself but she hadn't actually cried once since she had been taken, she couldn't. It was like she was passed being able to do that. She started moving her arms around and bending her legs up and down. She didn't want her muscles to start disintegrating or become too relaxed because when she needed to make a run for it her whole body really needed to be ready. She had decided her best and only chance would be when they took the handcuffs off to let her go to the bathroom.

She had no idea of the time or what day it was. She had been trying to remember as much of everything as she could but she had given up now. She was too tired and sore to dealing with anything. She could feel the huge lump on her head and also on her neck from where they had hit her twice with the gun to knock her out. They had her lying on her back and so she had to tilt her head to the side so that she wasn't leaning on the lump on her head. Her whole body stung and her head and right side were pounding. Every few hours they would come in and start screaming at her for information from CTU. When she said no then they would proceed to beat her. She knew they were going to kill her, she had heard them talking before. She didn't pick up what they were using her for but whatever it was they had already decided either way they would kill her when it was over. She imagined it would be some kind of deal with CTU.

She couldn't believe how alone and terrified she felt. It felt like it was weeks ago that Tony had his arms around her. She would give anything in the world to be back with him right now. She missed him so much and it was so impossible to even imagine that she probably would never see him again. She loved him so much. She regretted falling asleep rather than spending every second she had with him. She wondered if he thought she was already dead.


	7. chapter 7

Matthews watched Tony through the glass of the offices that separated them. Tony was waiting to hear back from some superiors over at the jail that would be able to give him the information they needed on Mason Pault. Matthews watched as Tony paced the room in circles constantly rubbing the side of his face. He had known Tony for a long time now and he had never seen him so distraught before. When he had found out about Nina he had become withdrawn, he only ever spoke if it was necessary. He would still be polite but he wasn't interested in having any form of relationship with anyone at work at all. That was until Michelle started up at CTU. Everyone could see straight off that they both had feelings for each other and wondered how long it would take for them to get together. Michelle bought Tony back out of his shell and soon he had become even more open and bubbly then he had ever been. Michelle and Tony always seemed to be laughing together and spent every spare second in each other's pockets. What they had was special and Matthews often felt jealous watching them together. He saw the way both always stood that little bit closer to each other than they would with anyone else, that they discussed things in person that could have easily been a quick phone call and he would always catch them watching each other from afar.

He didn't normally agree with office relationships but after hearing they had finally gotten their act together, he would have been happy for them and wouldn't have given them a hard time. He felt guilty that he had to force Michelle into this mission, but they truly had nobody else and no other option. He certainly couldn't not send her just because she and Tony had decided to have a relationship – he could never explain that to his superiors.

Matthews watched as Tony lunged for the phone. Tony's shoulders dropped and he began pacing back and forth faster and faster. He could see his already red eyes become watery. He hung up the phone, kicked his chair and slammed his fist into his desk. He wiped his eyes and then turned for the door, he was heading to Brad's office. He could see him take a couple deep breaths to try and calm himself as he entered the office. Matthews' heart went out to Tony, as he watched the young man tried to keep the composure of a professional agent. None of the men in the office never showed emotion, it was like some unwritten rule that they should be seen as courageous, strong agents that could handle anything.

"Tony, what did you find out?"

"Matthews, they are never going to let this guy out."

"What's his story?"

"His currently in isolation for trying to stab a guard. Apparently he is the biggest problem prisoner in the whole place. He has a record a mile long of violent acts just since he has been in prison. He hasn't got just 11 years left, with all the trouble he has been in he will be serving at least another 5 to 7 without any chance for parole."

Tony looked defeated and Matthews could completely understand why, there was no chance Mason could be released from prison with a track record like that, he would be considered too much of a risk.

"It doesn't look hopeful Tony, but let me see what I can do."

Tony nodded, "Here is the file, everything you need is in here. Have we heard back from Michelle's family yet?"

Tony had known through Michelle that her parents had taken her brother Danny interstate to visit with his children. As far as Tony could recall, they were still not due home for another 3 or 4 days. CTU staff had left messages for them at the family home, her father's work and on their cell phones.

"Sorry Tony, I don't think so. Why don't you try and get some rest, it's going to be a long day tomorrow and we need you at your best."

"I'll be on one of the beds out the back – make sure you get me if the slightest thing happens. Serious Matthews, I don't care how small – I want to know."

Tony turned and left the office making his way back down to the beds. There was nothing Tony could do to get the image of Michelle from the video out of his mind. Thinking of how perfect it felt to hold Michelle in his arms as they drifted off to sleep made tears stream down his cheeks. He had her safely wrapped up so close to him such a short time ago, it hurt thinking of how alone and frightened she must be feeling now. He was so angry for not making Michelle walk away from the mission. He'd give up CTU in a heartbeat to have her safe. He had felt so willing to walk away from everything with her, he wished he had been more forceful. Tony curled himself into a ball and began to cry. He sobbed like he never had before and didn't stop until complete exhaustion over took his body sending him to sleep.

Michelle was receiving another beating for not offering any information on CTU. This time whenever they asked a question and she did not answer then they would press a lit cigarette into her skin. She had been stripped down to her underwear and bra but it was probably her saving grace that she was such a bloody dirty mess now because she was sure it was at least one reason why she had not been sexually assaulted. She looked up at the young man standing beside her body. He couldn't have been any older than 25. He was so drunk he was almost paralytic, he was drooling and he kept mumbling to himself. After a few minutes he fell onto the ground near Michelle's feet and passed out.

Michelle looked his body over and gasped in excitement when she saw a cell phone sticking out of his back pocket. She used her free foot to tap it a few times until it feel to the floor, it was easy then to kick it so it slid up near her hand. Once it was safely in her possession she held her breath to listen for any other activity around her. She kicked the man at her feet a couple times in his back but he didn't even stir. The first thing she did was check her location on the front screen of the cell phone. They were holding her in Pasadena. She could barely make her hands stop shaking enough to press the buttons on the phone. Her mind went blank and she couldn't think of one phone number she knew, she couldn't even think what the first number was for Tony's cell. She slid the phone under her back, closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. After a few minutes of taking huge breaths and trying to think calmly Tony's phone number popped into her head. She pulled the phone back out and began to dial.

Tony felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and he had pulled it out and opened it before the 2nd ring.

"Almeida."

As soon as Michelle heard Tony's familiar voice she couldn't help but burst into tears. "T....Tony."

"Oh my God Chelle?! Do you know where you are?" Tony's heart began to race, he jumped up and grabbed pen and paper incase Michelle would have any information.

"They are keeping me in a house in Pasadena. Tony I heard them say they were going to kill me in the morning no matter what happens."

"Sweetheart, I'm going to find you. Do you have any idea where?"

"I was knocked out until I got here. I'm tied to a bed by my leg and hand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry....I'm s.."

"Chelle don't you say sorry, don't say that. I'm...."

"Tony they know I'm from CTU, they know. I didn't find anything out. I don't know anything."

"That's ok, we only care about you Chelle. Can you look around you and tell me anything about where you are?"

"There's a skylight in the bathroom which is the next room. The ceilings are high peaked, I'm on the 2nd floor. I heard tractors and hammering today so I think I'm next door to construction."

"That's good, that's good Chelle. What type of house?"

"Brick. Tony, I was going to make a run for it next time they unhook me to go the bathroom. If they catch me though, they will just kill me on the spot."

Tony's mind was racing so fast, he was trying to work out what the best advice would be to Michelle but he would never forgive himself if he told her to do something and it turned out badly. "Chelle, it's 1:15am now, I am going to have everybody possible in Pasadena ASAP looking for you. Try to hold on there until 6am, if we haven't found you then try your plan as last resort before Pault or anyone gets back. Can you do that?"

Michelle was trying to be strong but she just couldn't anymore. She began to cry and each word was broken with sobs. "Whatever you want me to do, I'll do. I....I just don't know if I can handle this Tony. I'm so scared.....I'm not going to make it out of this am I Tony?"

Tony almost couldn't breathe. Hearing her say that was the hardest thing he had ever heard and he didn't know how to deal with it. He cried, he didn't try and hide it from Michelle, he couldn't – he openly sobbed to her. "You have to be strong for me baby....I need you to stay strong. I'm going to find you Chelle, you are coming home with me because I can't live without you......I love you so much."

Michelle could hear somebody beginning to climb the stairs up to the room she was in. "Someone's coming, I love you." She hung up the phone and kicked it back down by the man's body so it looked like it had just fallen out of his pocket. She tried to pretend she was asleep so they wouldn't think she had even noticed the phone or used it.

Tony tried to run out of the room but his body wasn't co-operating, still too weak from the phone call and he fell flat on his face. He took a moment to get his breath back and calm down before he picked himself up and ran to his staff.


	8. chapter 8

Tony had local enforcements dis-batch every possible officer to the Pasadena area to look for Michelle. Everybody was encouraged that they had a good chance of finding her because of the construction Michelle had heard next door. Surely that had to narrow down the search dramatically. Tony also called in all CTU staff and agents to help with the search. His plan was to take care of as much as possible at the office and then head out there himself to look. He knew the next few hours would make or break his life, he didn't think it would ever be possible to move forward without Michelle. He tried burying his desperate emotions so he could keep all his focus and energy on finding her.

The two men stood over her frail body openly discussing what they wanted to do with her. They got distracted by their passed out friend beginning to vomit. After rolling him on his side didn't work because he just made choking sounds they decided to pick him up and take him into the bathroom. Michelle sighed in relief that she would be left alone for another couple minutes. Her thought turned to her phone call with Tony. She had heard the desperation and sadness in his voice – she wasn't use to hearing Tony like that. He was the strongest person she knew, the best at keeping his own emotions under his hat. She wished she had listened to him more about the case. She should have purely for how distressed and out of character he had acted over the whole thing – that should have been a big enough hint to walk away. His offer to leave CTU and start a life together was an offer she would never forgive herself for refusing.

One of Paults men Josh, was sitting keeping look out through the window. In the last 15 minutes 3 police cars had driven down the street. They hadn't slowed down when they passed the house they were in but it was obvious they were looking for something in the area. He decided to let everyone else know.

The 6 men at the house all had mixed reactions. Some thought it was impossible for CTU or the police to have figured out where they were and put it down to something else that was going on. Most of them though didn't care what it was, they couldn't take any chances on getting caught. They knew getting caught kidnapping a federal agent meant a hell of a lot of jail time – something none of them wanted to risk. The question was – what could they do about it? If they tried to leave they stood a high chance of being seen. If they stayed they felt like sitting ducks waiting to be caught. When search spot lights from helicopters began to cross the neighbourhood they called Pault and asked him what they should do. Pault was convinced it was definitely Michelle they were looking for – he had an idea.

Michelle saw the spot light through the window and felt encouraged. Any feeling of hope was quickly drained from her body when 3 of the men walked in the room, untied her foot and hand and threw her against the wall. They started asking her if that was the police looking for her and she asked how they could possibly expect her to know what was going on. The larger of the men pulled out his cell phone and shoved it in her face.

"Call work and tell them to call off the search immediately or we will kill you. If we see one more helicopter or officer we will kill you."

Michelle took the phone and began to dial, she had no choice. The man took a gun from the back of his pants and pointed it at her head, "I suggest you make the call."

Michelle dialled Tony's phone.

"Almeida."

"It's me."

"Chelle where are you? Are you ok?" He signalled to Hammond to get a trace set up on the phone call.

Michelle didn't want to say Tony's name or anything that would give anything away to these men. If they thought for a second that the man in charge of the investigation was her boyfriend it would give them far too much power. "You need to call off the search immediately."

"Are you kidding me? No, I won't do it."

"If one more officer or spot light is seen I will be killed straight away. Please ask your men to stand down."

Tony knew from her words and tone of voice that somebody was with Michelle as she made the call. He had to do what was asked, there was simply no other choice. He sent out a message on the other line for everybody to stand down and leave the area. He then came back to Michelle. "I have done what they have asked but you need to tell them that if they see another officer now, it is only because they are leaving the area."

Michelle looked at the man with the gun. "They have called off the search but asked you to understand that if you see an officer in the next few minutes it is because they are leaving so please don't take any action."

The man grabbed the phone. "Who am I speaking with?"

"This is agent Almeida with CTU. What can I call you?"

The man thought for a moment, "You can call me 'Sir'. We will not hesitate to dispose of the girl if we continue to see any police."

Tony only needed to keep him on the line another 35 seconds and they would have a location. This man was obviously not a professional. "We understand Sir. Is she ok?"

This mere thug Luke was enjoying the feeling of power he had. The idea that the call was being traced was not even close to entering his mind. He wanted to make Almeida squirm. "She is alive. It has been a pleasure utilising her services as a hooker."

Tony couldn't help himself, his voice raised and became laden with desperation. "You've raped her?"

"Its not rape when she smiles. She just needs to be slapped around if she begins to slow down, other than that I haven't had such a good fuck for a long time."

Tony's body slumped to the floor. Vomit rose in his throat but he managed to keep it down. He wanted to kill this man with his bare hands. "What is it you want? What can I do to keep her safe?"

The other two men started hounding him to get off the phone so he just hung up. They all started laughing when he spoke about how upset he could tell Almeida had been. The other two left the room leaving Luke alone with Michelle. Speaking to Almeida like that about Michelle had gotten him riled up.

Michelle's heart began to pound even harder, she could see by the way Luke was looking at her that he was about to do something. As he crossed the room back over to her she curled her body into a ball as she leaned against the wall. "Please Sir, don't touch me, don't hurt me."

"Shut up." He picked her body up from the floor and threw her onto the bed. She tried to scramble off it but he grabbed her and punched her until she finally kept still. Michelle cried as his hands began to explore her body. She had heard of a case where a woman was about to be raped and she told the man she had a STD and he ended up leaving her alone. Michelle decided anything was worth a shot. "I've got an STD."

He stopped, "What?"

"It's warts and it is completely infectious." He looked at her in disgust.

"You sick bitch." He slapped her across the face. Michelle could tell she had made him worried. A smile then spread across his face, "That's fine, there are other things you can do for me."

Michelle knew exactly what he was talking about and it made her feel so ill. She tossed around the idea of trying to fight with him but she knew he was just too strong for her. He had her hands pinned above her head and using all her strength she couldn't even budge them. He kissed her face, mouth and then her chest. All she could do was cry silently. She thought Tony would never want to touch her again.

Eventually he let go of her arms and sat up. He started to undo his pants and Michelle begged him not to make her do this. He just laughed at her and told her to shut up.

Suddenly a voice boomed from the doorway, "What the hell are you doing Luke?"

Luke spun around to see two of his friends watching in the door way. "I'll be done in a minute."

"Get the fuck off her Luke, if Pault finds out you touched her he will kill you."

Michelle started to breath again. She prayed he would listen to them. She watched him think about it for a minute before he reluctantly got off her and left the room swearing. She let her eyes close for a brief moment in relief.

Luke had been stupid enough to stay on the line long enough for CTU to pin point his location. They had an exact address. Although Tony was elated at the progress he could barely breathe still after hearing Luke say all of that about Michelle. He didn't think he had ever been angrier in his life, these men were going to pay severely when they caught them. He tried to imagine how Michelle would be feeling but he couldn't – the devastation and fear she must be feeling was too much for Tony to try and comprehend. He decided right there and then that if got Michelle back he wanted them both to leave CTU – never would he allow her to be put at risk again. No career would ever be worth what they were going through. He wanted to propose to her and then take her away travelling for a few months.

Tony told Hammond that he was going with the other field agents to get Michelle. Hammond knew there was no point arguing. With the address in hand everybody prepared to go and get Michelle.


	9. chapter 9

With an exact address things were starting to look a little more hopeful. Tony was still seeing red after hearing the man talk about Michelle like that, there was nothing that was going to offer him any kind of relief now until he had Michelle back in his own arms. He wondered how he was supposed to help Michelle deal with the emotional side of being attacked like that. How would she react? Would he ever be able to make her feel safe again? It also crossed his mind whether or not Michelle would tell him what happened.....did she know he already knew or would she try to protect him from it.

He was almost ready to leave to and get Michelle. He was in a protective vest and flak jacket. He packed an extra pistol to his body that he could offer Michelle if things got hairy as they were trying to escape.

Other than receiving orders all agents and staff were trying to give Tony the respect of the space he needed right now. He looked so focused, almost like a man on the verge of cracking. They say that people will always be able to rise to the occasion and be the person they need to be when dealing with a loved one. This seemed very true of Tony. A couple of the girls in the office commented on how it looked like in just the last hour his body had buffed up. His chest had filled out and the muscles in his arms had become more defined – physically he was presenting himself as the strong protector he needed to be for Michelle. Emotionally he was preparing himself for any situation that he may be faced with. He couldn't let his feelings for Michelle slow him down or distract him, if he was going to get them both out of this ok he needed to be able to think like the agent he was trained to be. His eyes were dark and drawn, he just wasn't the usual Tony.

Pault had arrived at the house after receiving many panicked phone calls from the guys in charge of Michelle. After hearing the facts he had decided the entire situation was far too much effort and risk with next to no hope of reward. He would have a couple of his men get some more footage of the girl that he could continue to use through the morning but after filming was done he wanted Michelle disposed of so they could move on to the next place. With CTU knowing which area they were in he wanted them out as soon as possible. Michelle heard him instruct somebody to come and get her and take her to the living room.

She knew she had one chance to make a run for it before she was murdered. If she let them take her to film then that was it, everything was over. Staring death in the face she was able to find the agent in her to find the strength to try and escape. As one of the men reached the top of the stairs Michelle began to yell that she needed the bathroom. He swore at her as he walked in but she pleaded again and so he decided to let her go. In his mind he figured it was only fair enough to cut the girl some slack considering they were just about to top her.

He pulled the door shut behind her and she immediately began to run the water tap. The water managed to hide the sound of the window being pushed up. The fly screen basically fell out as soon as she touched it, it was just a matter of placing it in the tub rather than allowing the noise of it dropping to the ground. She wasted no time in climbing out the window to begin climbing upwards. She figured they would assume she would have headed for the ground to make a run for it.

The night air was freezing and Michelle felt the bite through her entire body. With just her bra and underwear on she had absolutely no protection from the weather. She could hear the thug banging on the bathroom door telling her to hurry up as she made her way up the side of the house to the roof. She knew she had to get out of sight on the roof before they got into the bathroom and saw she was missing. She reached for the gutter and began to pull her body up but her arms felt so weak that they couldn't support her weight. She stopped to calm herself before trying again.

Hearing the obscenities fly out the window when the man realized she was gone scared enough strength into Michelle to pull herself up onto the roof. She huddled in between the peaks of the roof completely out of sight to anyone on the ground. Her teeth chatted and her body shook uncontrollably. The cigarette burns in her arm stung. Making herself feel even worse, she lay on her stomach so she could watch over the edge of the house. Two men were checking outside for her, one out the back and the other round front.

Four squad cars raced to the front of the house and pulled up onto the nature strip. She watched as at least 12 agents rushed for the house, she heard them storm through the door. The man out the back plus another one made a made dash over the fence.

Tony shielded himself in between two doorways. He had one of the men in perfect range but without a silencer he would attract to much attention to the guy he could hear sneaking around in the opposite room. With the sound of scuffling becoming more and more intense in another room he knew he couldn't waste anytime. He took the shot, taking out Joe and then spun to the ground to dodge fire coming from the other side of him. The thug lunged at him landing right on top of his chest. He was able to get in a couple good punches at Tony before Tony was able to flip their bodies over allowing himself to be on top. He slammed the man's head into the floor before taking 3 good strikes at his face. The man begged him to stop. "Where is Michelle? WHERE IS MICHELLE?"

"We don't know.....she got away just before you guys got here." Tony called for help and with the help of another agent handcuffed the man and had him taken out to the squad cars along with the other couple men that had been caught. Tony raced every room in the house but could not find Michelle. He found the bathroom window she had crawled out of, he put this much together from the screen sitting in the tub and the window wide open. He looked up and down trying to figure out what she would have done.

Michelle could see that the agents had taken control of the situation. She crawled back to the side of the house and found a spot she thought she could lower herself down on. She was too scared to yell out because she knew they hadn't caught the couple men that had darted over the back fence. Her body scrapped across the brick as she lowered her body down onto the garage roof. She was almost close enough to jump. She stood unsure of what to do. The sound of car engines made her heart skip a beat, she thought they were going to leave her behind. Without another thought she jumped to the ground.

Tony had made his way back to the first floor, out the corner of his eye he saw what looked like something fall from the garage. Still armed and ready he stepped outside.

Michelle was about 5 meters in front of him trying to peel herself of the ground. "Michelle!"

Not recognizing Tony's voice she tried to stand and retreat backwards. Tony was absolutely horrified to see her with next to no clothes on, injured and dirty. He kept walking towards her. "Michelle, its Tony. I'm here sweetheart....you are safe now."

She lowered her hands from her face and looked at him. He could see the sheer terror and pain in her eyes and his heart hurt seeing her such a mess. Once he could tell that she recognized it was him he stepped in close enough to wrap his arms around her. He wanted to pull her in so tightly but already she flinched a little with pain.

He could barely even hold on to her because she was shaking so much, he could hear her teeth chattering violently. He went to pull his shirt off but she finally took hold of him. It was like it had just sunk in that Tony was really there with her. "Tony? Oh My God...."

"It's me Chelle. You are safe now, it is going to be ok." He pulled his jacket off and then his shirt. "Come here sweetie, put these on." He began to help her pull the jumper over her body and then the jacket. Both were huge on her which was perfect as his shirt covered her down to her knees.

Out of shock and nerves she began to speak at a rapid rate. "I'm sorry Tony, I couldn't wait until 6 – they were going to shoot me. I didn't know what to do so I climbed up onto the roof....I saw you come but when the cars started up I thought you were leaving without me...."

Tony pulled her body back in close and stopped her from speaking anymore by pressing his lips against hers. He pulled on her lower lip before he pulled back. "I would have never left without you. You did so good Michelle, you saved your own life – I have no idea how you managed to get onto the roof, but that was so smart." He kissed the top of her head over and over. "I love you so much Chelle – I am never ever letting you go again."

"Well, well well.....isn't this a beautiful picture! Such a shame it needs to be destroyed."

Both Tony and Michelle turned their heads to find Pault standing a few meters away with his gun pointed directly at them. "Put your gun down on the ground slowly."

Tony did as he was told. His eyes searched for any of his agents but he couldn't see any. He moved his body in front of Michelle so that she was completely covered. He didn't dare take his eyes off Pault to look at Michelle but he could hear her quietly whimpering while trying to catch her breath. He didn't care if Pault heard, "It's going to be ok Chelle, we are going to be ok – I am here with you."

Pault began to laugh but as quickly as he started he suddenly stopped and went back to his serious face. Pault lived for having power like this over people. "Come here to me Michelle...."

Tony clung to her. "NO, NO NO! Michelle is not moving – haven't you done enough to her?"

"I don't believe I was speaking to you. Michelle if you do not come to me I will shoot your boyfriend in the head."

Michelle started to move but Tony held her. He tried to speak to just her. "You can't go over Chelle. Please God..."

Pault didn't have time to waste. He needed to have Michelle to be able to use her in getting away from this. "You have 5 seconds Michelle and then he is dead. 5........"

Michelle yanked her hand out of Tony's and walked to Pault. Pault watched a couple tears run down Tony's face – he had never seen a man look so defeated and broken. The look in the agent's eyes was eerie to Pault, he wondered if it was really possible to love someone so much that your emotional pain could be so intensely obvious through your eyes. He grabbed Michelle and pulled her body in front of his.

Michelle felt beaten. She didn't think that there was any way both her and Tony could get out of this alive. It was life's cruel way of teasing her letting her have a few minutes with Tony again before he was ripped away from her. Looking at Tony it looked like he had completely shut off.

Tony was in shock. On the inside he felt so hysterical but he hadn't a clue how to make a noise or move his body. It felt like he was shutting down. A minute ago he finally had held Michelle safely in his arms and now he was watching a man hold her with a gun pointed at her head. How much more of this was he and Michelle expected to take?


	10. chapter 10

Pault moved the gun down a couple inches on her temple revealing a deep red mark from where it had been pressed into her. When it was clear Pault had the situation under control the other man that had escaped over the back as well, Nick, appeared from the side of the house. Pault handed Nick Michelle and the gun and then started to make his way to Tony. He picked up his gun and checked it for bullets. He started to circle him.

One of Tony's agents yelled over the fence asking if Tony was ok. Pault shoved the gun into his back and told him to respond that he was, he had Michelle and they just needed a few minutes. Tony reluctantly did what he was told.

"You've got Michelle? Is she ok? Should I send around medics?"

Tony felt the gun pinch his skin and Pault's breath on his neck as he spoke. "No, she is ok Trevor. I just want a few minutes in private with my wife. You can head back to the office and use room Blue."

Trevor ran back to the other agents. "Something's up, something is up with Tony."

"What do you mean? Where is he?"

Trevor was bouncing on the spot. "First he said he had Michelle and they just needed a couple minutes. When I pressed him a little he yelled at me that he just needed some private time with his wife and then he told me to go back to the office to room blue."

A couple of the agents started nodding their heads. "Obviously he is in a code blue situation. There must be somebody else with him. Either he wants the thug to think Michelle is his wife or he was letting us know something is also wrong with Michelle."

The agents worked on a game plan for a few minutes before splitting up to circle and secure the house. Once they had information of where Tony and Michelle were exactly and who was with them then they could move in. Things felt surprisingly unorganised without Tony directing them all what to do.

Tony prayed to the high heavens that his junior officer had understood what he had told him. Without help he didn't know how he was going to get Michelle out of this.

The two men pushed Michelle and Tony into the house and back up the stairs. Michelle hesitated at the doorway of the room she had already been held captive in for a couple of days. It was like her body froze, not allowing her to re-enter. Tony was already in the room with Pault and he turned and watched Michelle. He knew straight away how scared she was. Looking around he saw the two sets of handcuffs still clipped to the side of the bed. He looked back at Michelle with a huge lump in his throat, he knew why she didn't want to come in. He wished he could comfort her.

"Michelle, I'm here baby.....you are going to be ok." Tony could careless what he said in front of these men.

Nick pointed his finger at Tony over Michelle's shoulder. "You....shut the fuck up." He dug his arms into Michelle's back and then shoved her as hard as he could into the room. She went flying into the metal railing at the end of the bed. Tony instinctively went to grab her but Pault hit him over the back of the head with his gun. Both Tony and Michelle hit the ground, completely unconscious.

"Pault, what the hell are we going to do? There are cops swarming the place – they will find us in a matter of minutes."

"Shut up and let me think."

Pault was staring at Tony. "I've got it. Wake him up, wake him up." Nick slapped Tony a few times across the face until he came to. His eyes opened and shut a few times as he tried to adjust his sight.

Pault knelt down next to Tony and pushed a phone into his face. "Call who ever you have to, and get rid of the men you have outside. Tell them you and Michelle got away to a new location, I don't care just get them out of here."

"But..."

Pault pressed the gun into Michelle's temple. "You have 3 seconds."

Tony called Tray, the man in charge of CTU back-up and local police.

"Tray its Tony."

"Tony, where are you? We have men everywhere."

"Michelle and I just lost one of the men. We are about 12 blocks South of Chamberlain. Send everyone you've got to the area straight away. I'll have to let you know when I can get a better location."

"We are on our way."

Tony hung up. Pault looked pissed. "Why only 12 blocks, that's still close to here."

This guy was an even bigger idiot than Tony first thought. "One of my agents only just spoke to me a few minutes ago over the fence in the backyard. They would never believe we were any further away."

Pault seemed to accept this. He walked over to the door where he could hear car doors shutting and engines starting. Tray asked two of his agents to do a few circles of the blocks in the area and then go straight back to the house in case anyone tried to head back there. They left with everyone else to make their rounds.

They told Tony to pick up Michelle's body and carry her. Even under the circumstances, it still felt good to touch her. Nick walked in front and Pault behind them as they made their way to the front of the house. Nick went out first to find a car he could hot wire. He returned in what seemed like just seconds with an executive sedan style car. Nick led Tony to the back seat and told him to get in. Tony very carefully lowered Michelle down onto the seat. He laid her across the seat and then he got in so that he could rest her head in his lap. Nick sat in the passenger seat facing them as Pault drove. Tony tried to wake Michelle. He knew it was dangerous to just let her stay out cold like that. He leant over her body as much as possible so that he would be the only thing she saw as she woke up. It worked and a tiny smile appeared but it was extremely short lived as she caught Nick watching her. Tony stroked her hair the entire way. He tried not to look at her body as he knew his reaction would upset Michelle. She had cuts and scrapes, bruises and a couple burns. His t-shirt didn't cover much as she was lying down, Tony tried to pull it down some more when he noticed the Nick still hadn't taken his eyes off Michelle.

They pulled into another house and went through the same crap getting inside. They were taken into a back sitting room. Tony was shoved to the ground. As he turned his body around to sit up properly he felt that his other gun was still there ok. He had to wait until there was only 1 of them in the room to take them out properly.

Michelle went to sit next to Tony but Pault held onto her.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Michelle's voice was quiet. "I was just going to sit with Tony."

"I don't think so." He grabbed at the bottom of her shirt and the jacket. "Well I know you didn't have these on before." He looked over at Tony who just had a plain white t-shirt on, obviously an undershirt. "Give them back to Tony."

Tony begged on her behalf. "I don't need them, really. Please she will freeze without them."

Pault just acted like he hadn't even heard Tony. He made Michelle lift her arms as he pulled them over her head. Michelle was left standing in her underwear and bra again, the cool temperature immediately stinging her skin. Pault ordered Tony to put the shirt and jacket back on. Tony knew the exercise was to make him feel like a bastard to Michelle, as she stood there freezing he got to pull on the warmth of two tops.

Pault moved around and stood behind Michelle, he wrapped his arms around her waist. He kissed her bare shoulder and then smiled and raised his eyes to look at Tony. Tony felt winded and completely sick. Watching his smug face, Tony was ready to kill him. He looked at Michelle who was deathly pale and full of desperation. Tony knew if he pulled his gun out now he would give one of them time make a shot and he just couldn't risk that. They would have to wait a little longer.

Tony's fists clenched as Paults hands started to run across Michelle's stomach. She pulled his hands away but he just put them back. She started to wriggle and Pault became extremely fed up. He motioned to Nick.

Nick walked over to Tony and pushed his gun into his head so firmly that it made his head tilt to the side. Tears streamed down Michelle's face as she looked into Tony's eyes. He winked at her and offered a tiny smile. Michelle couldn't believe how strong he was being for her. He really was her rock. She tried to pull on his strength to keep on going. She was willing to die for Tony, there would be no hesitation. He truly was the most beautiful man she had ever known.

Pault tightened his grip around Michelle and started talking into her ear, loud enough for Tony to hear. "Do you want Tony to live?"

"Yes, Oh God yes. I'll do anything – please don't touch him."

Pault smiled. "That is good to hear.....Now as long as you do what I want without any struggle then I will keep Tony alive.....got it."

Tears streamed down Tony's head as he shook his head. Michelle nodded at Pault. "Take the gun away from his head then."

"Ok ok." Pault motioned for Nick to stand back which he did. He walked over to Tony and spoke quietly in his face. "I'm sure you have never watched another man fuck your wife before."

"Don't do this Pault. Whatever it is that you want, I'll get. You're a business man, you know that you never touch another man's woman."

He stood back up and walked back over to Michelle. He stood behind her and ran his hands all over her stomach. He started kissing her neck and then he began to firmly run his hands over her chest. He spun her around and then pushed her back up against a wall. He pushed his body into hers so hard she yelped in pain.

Tony choked on his tears. Hearing her yelp was pushing him to his last straw. He pulled his legs up closer in his body and felt the gun. He knew he could take out Nick, but he didn't know what would happen with Pault. He sat, ready to kill this man groping his girl and hurting her. He had promised Michelle she would be ok and he was going to stay true to it no matter what it meant.

Vomit rose in his mouth as Pault kissed her and began to run his hand up and down her thigh. Again he pushed himself into her, she let out another cry. He was enjoying watching the pain in her eyes. She begged him not to hurt her, instead he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head on the wall. He kicked at her foot trying to make her leg move further away from the other.

Tony had seen enough terror in Michelle's eyes and after hearing her whimper in pain again he knew it was time. He grabbed his gun.


	11. chapter 11

**Bad Language**

He fired a shot at Nick's right thigh before Nick even knew what was going on. Pault spun around and once he saw it was Nick down, he drew his gun. He made Michelle stand in front of him, blocking his body. Tony had pounced on Nick and taken his gun as well, they were now in a stand off with each other.

"Give it up Pault, you've got nowhere to go."

Tony could tell finally that Pault was nervous because his voice had become a little shaky. "Yeah and you've got everything to lose. Back off Tony."

Pault knew he couldn't shoot Michelle because then Tony could go for him. As long as he had Michelle there was no way Tony would risk firing at him if there was a chance he could hit her instead.

Michelle hated having Tony just standing there so open, he was a sitting duck for Pault to take him out. "Tony please move, don't do this." Michelle's words were crippled with tears.

"Chelle, I promised you that you would be ok, that you are safe with me. I'm not going to let you down."

A gun fire went off and Michelle wasn't even sure who had fired. She stared at Tony, he was just standing still with no expression on his face. Michelle was confused. Suddenly Tony raised his hand to his chest . His face turned pale within seconds and his eyes were shutting. "Oh My God Tony......TONY!!" She watched him fall straight down onto his back. The realization of what had just happened was more than Michelle could handle. She passed out.

Pault felt Michelle's body go limp in his arms, he saw that she was unconscious so he let her body just fall to the ground. He laughed, looking at their two bodies, he felt proud that he had defeated them. He would wait until she came too and then he would kill her too. He preferred the idea of being able to watch the horror in her eyes when he did it. He walked over to Tony and kicked his feet, nothing. He kicked his lifeless body as hard as possible right on the side of his stomach, nothing. 'Wow' Pault thought to himself as he turned to go to Nick 'I must have hit him perfectly in the heart'.

Tony not only had the thin protective vest on under his t-shirt but he was also wearing a flak jacket. The bullet hadn't even made its way to his skin. Tony figured Pault would take a shot at him if he was in the open and slowly making his way to him. He was certainly running the risk of Pault shooting him in the head but he didn't have another option – it was only a matter of minutes before Pault murdered them both. At least with all the protection he was wearing he was completely confident to take a bullet anywhere between his hips and neck. The other beauty of all this was that Pault had seen Tony in just his t-shirt and didn't notice what he had on underneath. He obviously had no idea what a flak jacket was so Pault wouldn't think for a second that the bullet hadn't completely taken him out. Playing dead whilst he was kicked had been damn hard. He had to be so conscious of not even letting his eyelids move, he took the smallest, most shallow breaths hoping that his breathing wasn't going to give him away. His gun was half under his back, thank God Pault hadn't noticed it and taken it.

Pault was standing over Nick yelling at him. He just kept saying that because he'd been so fucking stupid as to have been hit he was now going to slow them down. Tony knew he had to take Pault out in the cleanest fashion. If he had it so the guy could think or function at all he might shoot Michelle who was still completely out of it just on the other side of the room.

Tony lifted the gun into both hands, opened his eyes, sat up, aimed and fired two bullets straight into Paults head. He collapsed to the floor immediately. Tony jumped up and went straight to his body and grabbed his gun. He wasn't going to leave even a 1 chance of Pault not being completely dead and trying to pull another stunt. He stood over him and fired another bullet straight into his chest. He turned the gun on Nick.

"Oh God, please don't kill me man. I'm begging you."

"Although he wanted to and he knew no one would blame him he knew killing an injured, unarmed man was not the right thing to do. He checked every inch of Nick to make sure he had nothing else on him and when he was satisfied he didn't he took Paults phone and called CTU.

"Hammond."

"It's Tony."

"Tony what is going on? You didn't call back with a location, we have looked everywhere....."

"I had to just say that shit because they had a gun at Michelle's head. I need you to send people to come get us. I have Pault dead and one of his men badly injured."

"And you and Michelle?"

"I'm fine. Michelle will need to go to hospital, she's pretty bad."

"What's the location?"

Tony turned to Nick, "Where are we?"

"Are you going to kill me?"

"If you give me the wrong address or fuck with me at all, I will kill you. If you do the right thing I won't touch you."

"32 Leemans Drive, Beverly Hills."

Tony repeated it to Hammond and told them to hurry up. Hammond promised to have people there within 6-7 minutes.

He kept his gun pointed at Nick as he was finally able to make his way to Michelle.

He hadn't seen what had happened to her so he didn't know if Pault had knocked her unconscious or if she had passed out. He wondered if he should wait for the medics. He checked her breathing which was fine. Her body was freezing. He didn't want to lift her incase she had a neck injury or something so he took off his shirt and jacket and laid them over her.

Nick called for him. He stood up and got a little closer to him. "What?"

"Do you have to keep me here? I've been punished enough from you shooting me. You also just killed my best friend."

"You've got to be joking. You kidnapped Michelle for nearly 3 days. You have all beaten her, raped her and God knows what else. You have had a gun pointed at my head all night, not to mention you threw Michelle into the metal railing. You will be in jail for the rest of your life. I hope you spend every fucking second of it regretting what you did."

"They can't give me life. I didn't kill anyone. I didn't do all this alone there was heaps of us."

"It's just a shame for you that you decided to fuck with two federal agents, in a court's eyes you can't do much worse. Why is Michelle unconscious? What did Pault do?"

"He didn't do anything. She thought you had been killed. All the color in her face drained away and then she just passed out. It was like she couldn't handle what had just happened and so she shut off."

Tony went back over to Michelle. He couldn't do much with her until someone else could watch Nick. He felt horrible that Michelle was like this, he wished there had been a way he could have warned her first. There was nothing he could have done in the situation.

Hammond, Chapelle, Tray, Trevor, Samuels and 6 medics and 4 running agents rushed the room. Tony pointed out Nick as one of Michelle's captors, he also told that he had shot him in the thigh. "That's Pault, I gave him two in the back of the head and another to make sure in the chest."

He rushed back to Michelle. "I need help here." A pile of them all ran over, including Hammond and Chappelle. "Was she knocked out or passed out? How long for?"

Tony was finally able to keep his eyes on Michelle, he stroked her hair. "I guess for 15 – 20 minutes. She passed out apparently when she thought I had been killed. Pault shot me in the chest so I went down to make him believe I was out. Michelle didn't know I had protection on though so she also thought it was real." He kept stroking her hair. "Can I hold her? Can't we wake her or do we have to wait till she does naturally?"

The medic started getting things out of his kit. "No, we should wake her. I'll do a scent snap, she will come too immediately."

Tony put his hand up. "Wait, wait – I want to have you guys all turn around so I can at least put the t-shirt on her. It will upset her if she thinks everyone saw her without cover."

Everyone turned around. Tony had the medic help him with Michelle. The medic sat her up and Tony pulled the shirt back over her. The medic was shocked. "Shit Tony, what have they done to her? The shirts going to have to come off soon anyways so we can check and fix all her injuries." It hurt Tony so much to see Michelle in this state – he almost didn't even know how to think about it or deal with it. They also put the jacket on her as well. They lay her back down, this time with her head on Tony's lap. He pulled the t-shirt down, almost to her knees. He told everyone they could turn around now.

The medic snapped the stick under Michelle's nose and her eyes opened straight away. Everything was blurry at first, she could make out people but she didn't know who they were. As her eyes adjusted she saw Tony. She jumped up straight away and started to head for the other side of the room. Everyone was calling after her, telling her it was ok, that she was safe now but none of it registered.

Michelle was trying to think straight. At first she wondered if she was dead and that's why she had seen Tony and also why everything was a blur. She could feel her pain, the cool air and of course she recognized this room. It hadn't been a nightmare, she was standing in the room. She saw Tony though, 'am I going crazy? I watched him die' she thought.

Tony edged back up to Michelle. He spoke in a quiet soothing voice, she had her back to him. "Chelle, its Tony. I was wearing the flak jacket and the bullet didn't even touch me, I had to fool Pault and it worked. I'm ok, you are ok, and we are going to be ok."

Michelle turned around to face Tony slowly. She stood staring at him for a few moments, she lifted her hand and pressed a finger into his chest before dropping it back by her side. A single tear ran down her cheek. "I thought you were dead, do you know how that made me feel?"

Tony very gently put his hand on her cheek. "I'm so sorry Chelle, I didn't know what else to do, and there was no way for me to warn you. I'm sorry baby, let me hold you."

"Where are Pault and Nick?"

"I killed Pault Chelle, you will never have to worry about him again. I shot Nick in the thigh and he's been taken into custody – I guess they will just fix him up first." Tony tried to look into her eyes to read how she was feeling but she just looked so lost. He so gently put a hand on each shoulder and started to bring her in close to him. Her hands were in front of her body and she finally began to allow herself to get close to Tony. Before their bodies met, "Is it over Tony?"

She was close enough for him to completely wrap his arms around her. Her head rested into his chest, one arm clung to his upper chest on one side of her head and the other hand did the same thing on the other side of her head. "It's over Chelle. You are safe sweetheart."

Tony couldn't believe he was actually holding Michelle in his arms. He had spent the last 3 days praying for this moment. He kissed the top of her head. He could feel her crying into his chest, he massaged her back with his hands. "You are ok now baby, I've got you and I'm never letting go."

"Tony, I didn't think I'd ever be in your arms again. Since the moment I left CTU I just wanted you. I spent the last 3 days just thinking about this moment. I've never been so scared."

Tears ran down his own face. "Oohhh Chelle.......I was exactly the same. God it has been the hardest 3 days of my entire life, I can only imagine how you must be feeling."

"All I'm feeling is you right now. I love you so much."

"I love you......you are the love of my life."

She gripped him tightly and he held her firmly and kissed the top of her head.

Chappelle approached them both, "It's great to see you Michelle, and you did great."

"Thanks Ryan."

"I need you both to come back over so you can be seen by the medics."

Michelle pulled out of Tony's embrace but kept her body close to his. He put his arm around her and led her back to the medics. They had set up two little stations there for them both, right next to each other. They asked Tony to remove his t-shirt. Everyone saw the huge bruise the size of a foot on his side and back where Pault had kicked him. Michelle gasped, "Tony, Oh my God are you ok?"

"I'll be fine Chelle, it's just a bruise."

Michelle lay down patiently as a couple doctors began to inspect every inch of her. Once Tony had been cleared fine he went and sat next to Michelle and stroked her hair. He could see how nervous she was. One of the medics, Jim, pointed to some burn marks, "Michelle are these from cigarettes?"

"Yes Sir."

"What was happening?"

"They kept pressing me for information on CTU and when I didn't give it to them they would start push lit smokes into me."

"Fucking Bastards..." Tony couldn't help himself.

Michelle just tried to keep her eyes closed and block out the feeling of more strangers hands all over her. They had to give her stitches around her ankle and wrist where the handcuff's had been. They had been so tight they'd spent that whole time cutting into her.

Tony tried to talk to her while they gave her pain injections and the stitches to distract her. "You are doing so good Chelle. Do you want me to get you anything?"

"Can I go home soon Tony? I just want a shower. I have to get away from all this."

"It is going to be awhile Chelle. We may even have to go to the hospital after this."

"Why? These guys can do everything – no one ever has to go to a hospital after seeing them."

"Let's just wait and see what happens ok...."

**Please review if you would like me to continue. Let me know if there is something you want to see happen. Thanks for reading!!**


	12. 12

**Hi Guys!!  
  
I really struggled with this chapter - more than I have with anything else. I think because I want them to be all happy etc... but after everything they have both been through there has to be some major issues.....know what I mean? So I've got to work through those a little bit first, but I am certainly working on them being ok. So hang with me....I hope you like this one because I think I have re-written it about 4 times now.  
  
Cheers!!**

Chappelle started up the questions on Michelle. "What else happened while you were there Michelle? How many of them were there?"

Michelle was too agitated to be doing this now. She hadn't slept since she left CTU; she was weak, hungry and still very frightened. One of the medic's Tom, was in the middle of stitching up her first foot and it hurt like hell. "Do we have to do this now? I just want to get out of here."

Jim, the other medic, answered Michelle as he continued studying her knees and thighs. "Michelle you are going to be here for awhile, can we get you something?" He turned and faced Tony and Chappelle, "You should have someone bring some food and drink in – water and juice for Michelle and something soft like yoghurt or ice cream." He asked Michelle again, "Have you had anything?"

"No."

Tony was horrified. "Nothing for all this time? You can tell you have lost a lot of weight."

"Whenever they let me go to the bathroom I skulled as much water as possible – like until I felt full."

Chappelle took a call from CTU where they were holding the other men.

Michelle started moving her legs, and becoming very restless. Tony started stroking her hair and running his other hand on her arm to calm her down. She started trying to sit up, her face was very tense and her eyes looked extremely stressed. Jim held onto her firmly, "What's wrong Michelle? You have to stay here."

"I just.....I....I can't do this, I just can't do this now."

Chappelle walked over and called Tony, Jim and Tom to talk to him. They called Hammond who was in the next room interviewing agents, to come and stay with Michelle for a few moments. Before Tony walked to Chappelle he put his hand on her cheek "It's going to be ok Chelle, you'll see, I'm going to get you through this."

Chappelle got straight to the point. "Tony this is going to be hard for you to hear. It seems one of the men they are holding back at CTU has admitted that Michelle was sexually assaulted. He claims he stopped it and made the man get off Michelle but with so many of them there for so long he didn't know if it had happened any other time." Tony jumped in, "It's true. When one of them was speaking to me on the phone he was bragging about a few of them having a go with her.....I swear I want to kill every last one of them." He paused and rubbed the side of his face, "You should have seen what Pault was doing to her in front of me."

Jim put a hand of support on Tony's shoulder, "I was just going to have Michelle remove the t-shirt, and there is blood all around her thighs and some very deep bruising near the top of her leg that looks a lot like a hand print."

Hammond was a nervous wreck around Michelle. He knew it was he who forced her on the mission and he blamed himself for every scratch on her. "Michelle, I'm so sorry for what has happened to you, I never imagined it would have turned out this way. I am so sorry."

She responded in true Michelle fashion, a reason she was so loved and highly respected at CTU. "You didn't know Brad, everyone did their best and I'm so grateful for that, and the extra hours you all worked to help me."

Hammond forced a smile of appreciation. "You are a great agent Michelle, on and off the field."

Michelle was so sore and uncomfortable. She figured they had her lying on a bruise or something. She began to shift around again. The other men walked back over and again held her down.

"Just let me get up for a minute. I want a shower, some sleep. God you can't make me stay here you know..." Michelle did know that they could easily, she was just clutching at straws."

Chappelle took control of the situation. "You know that's not true Michelle. You need to help us out with a few things...ok?" She barely nodded her head, looking defeated. "We need to start by removing your top so we can check the rest of your injuries...."

"No way." She looked up at Tony, who if anything, just looked really angry. "Tony...tell them."

Tony was trying so hard to keep himself together. On one hand he was just mortified at what had happened and he needed to be able to let out his emotions. One part of him just wanted to scoop Michelle up and protect her from anymore pain and discomfort but he knew she had to face what had happened the same as he was going to have to. Everybody around them was doing everything to help Tony and Michelle get through this in the best possible way. Having everything happen in front of Chappelle and his staff made it so much more difficult for him to show his emotions.

"Chelle, I need you to do this...." Tony felt like he had betrayed her. She was begging him with her eyes to not let them touch her but Tony knew no matter how hard it was on her, she needed immediate attention.

She couldn't believe Tony hadn't stuck up for her. Didn't he see how tired she was? Couldn't he tell how much she just needed to cry and fall apart? She felt so alone. "I don't want to be here, I don't want to remove my clothes again....this is the first piece of clothing I've had on since they took me. Nobody else is touching me...."

"Hey hey sweetheart......don't think of it like that. I'll hold you, we go through everything together from now on. I promise you I will get you out of here as soon as possible."

"I'm just so tired..."

"I know. Just think, I'll take you home and you can snuggle in the big warm bed and sleep for as long as you want – I'll hold you the entire time."

Jim put a hand down on Michelle and spoke in a gentle voice. "We understand how frightened you are, but we are doing this to help you. You need lots of support after an ordeal like yours Michelle. We know that you were sexually assaulted. We will be gentle and as quick as possible. There is blood still seeping through your top Michelle, you must have cuts that need immediate attention......this is what is best for you."

Tony could tell Michelle had just let most of that fly in one ear and straight out the other. He felt so helpless, after 3 days of what she had been through, she deserved to feel nothing but comfort and security. His heart sank a little when she looked straight past him to Chappelle.

"Chappelle, I need to use the bathroom.....now."

They all looked at each other, their eyes expressed concern. "Ok Michelle, Tony can escort you."

"I don't need an escort, I'm not a criminal you know." Michelle was angry and hurt. She couldn't understand why they weren't cutting her just a little bit of slack. God at least let her shower and wash the last 3 days off her. Let her just fall apart for a few minutes like she needed too. She started to slide herself off the bed, she was greatly shocked at the weakness in her body.

This wasn't going how Chappelle wanted it to be. "We know that Michelle, you need to know that we are not the enemy."

Things were flying out of her mouth before she had a chance to edit them. "Then how come I still feel scared? How come I'm petrified of what all of you expect from me or are going to do? And how come I feel so alone?"

Her words shocked them all. That was the last response anyone was expecting. Tony jumped up to go to her, "Chelle..." Chappelle interrupted him and motioned for him to stop and stay where he was. Chappelle took a few steps closer to her...

"Michelle, there is no need for you to worry about us....you know us – you have been through these procedures a million times with us...it just feels strange because you are on the other side of it now.....this is really hard for us too."

Everyone watched as Michelle's body swayed. Tony felt sick watching her like this – she looked so frail and small, her face was pale and her shirt was sticking to her body with blood. When she spoke her words were weak..

"That's right Ryan, you know me. Usually you respect me and listen to what I am saying....why can't you do it now?"

Jim interrupted them, "We can talk about all this BUT you are losing blood, you can barely stand, you have gone very pale and I absolutely need to be able to see what is going on NOW."

Michelle just stood completely unsure of what to do. Tony walked up to her, put a hand on each shoulder and whispered into her ear, "I'm begging you to listen to me Chelle. I know you are scared, I am too. You have to let them help you, I can't handle anything else happening to you – please Chelle, I need to know you are getting fixed up."

"Bu...but Tony..."

"No buts Chelle. Do this for me. Don't you trust me?"

Michelle looked into his pleading eyes. "OK.....for you."

His shoulders dropped and he sighed in relief. He knew she doing it for no other reason than for him, but at this point he would take anything. "Thank you Chelle. It's going to be ok.....you'll see."

Michelle nodded her head. She watched Tony motion to Tom and Jim that they could come over. He moved around her body so he could hold her from behind. Her body felt cold and so weak and flimsy that Tony felt like it was him just keeping her even standing.

Tom started getting different instruments out and Jim spoke to Michelle. "This is the best thing for you Michelle. We will do this as quickly as possible ok?" He gently took hold of the bottom of her top and began to lift it up.

Tony helped lift her arms up and pull the shirt over her head. As soon as it was off he wrapped his arms around her as much as possible to help her feel a little more protected. He pressed himself into her, holding her tightly. He could feel the wetness of blood seeping into his clothes from hers.

The blood was coming from two deep cuts near the top of her rib cage on the side. From lying on her back the blood had poured down her back everywhere. There was also extremely deep bruising all down her left side. "What are these from Michelle?"

"I don't know..."

Tony spoke up, "I think it must have been from Pault right at the end. Before he started umm...umm attacking you Chelle you didn't have those cuts – I would have seen them."

Jim looked at Tony, "what kind of weapons did he have on him?"

"I only saw the gun, then again I didn't go through his pockets or anything." He called for Chappelle to find out what was found on Pault.

Jim shifted his gaze back to Michelle. "Do you remember? What he used on you?"

"I don't know."

Tom got off his knees from checking the rest of her stomach. "What about these scrapes and bruises?"

"I don't know."

They all looked at each other. Michelle spoke up again, she didn't want them to think she wasn't cooperating "Sorry, I know I'm not helpful, it's just they were doing something to me like every hour night and day the whole time they had me. My body just hurts and I can't remember though where or when I got most of these injuries. Any bruising would be from the throwing me to the ground or kicking and punching me...."

She could hear Tony's breathing become shallow and fast. She hated what all of this was doing to him. She didn't want him to feel responsible for her simply because of what had happened just before she left.

Jim looked relieved that Michelle had finally spoken up a little. "That's ok Michelle. Thank you for telling us all of that....you are doing really well. The hand print bruise here on the top of your thigh – can you tell me anything about that? Do you think that would have been from when someone was forcing themselves on you?"

Tony gritted his teeth, he wasn't sure he could face this. He could feel her whole body become tense.

Michelle immediately got very defensive. "I was not raped!!"

Tony, Jim and Tom didn't really believe Michelle as much as they wanted to. She didn't realize how much they actually knew. Tony kissed her on the neck and spoke gently. "Chelle we saw what Pault did to you on the video the night you were taken, and look what I just had to watch only a little while ago. It's ok, you can tell us."

As they all spoke Jim was trying to trace some butterfly clips across the wound to stop the blood flow as much as possible until Michelle was calm enough to lie down and let him start stitching.

"There is nothing tell, I was not raped. Just leave it would you." She couldn't have this conversation – how could she ever expect Tony was going to stick around once he knew all the details.

The desperation and urgency in Tony's voice surprised everyone. "Are you telling me that besides what I witnessed with Pault not one other person laid a hand on you?"

She wanted to lie but knowing exactly what CTU was capable of she new damn well they would get the truth in the end anyways. She felt angry with Tony for him making her tell him. Didn't he realize how this would change things? She wondered if the blurriness she had in her eyes meant she was going to pass out again. She just felt so rotten all over, it was hard to decide what to concentrate on. She finally offered him an answer...

"Y...ye...no...no...yes. YES OK, someone tried but it didn't get that far. Is this over yet?"

With all the hatred, anger, guilt and hurt Tony was feeling charging through his body, he didn't even realize how rude and rough he was to Michelle. "Does it look like we are done??" His hands left her body as he stood back to kick a chair. When he let go of her she had to grab the nearby pole for support. She almost jumped out of her skin watching him kick the chair and hear the crash it made.

Chappelle walked over. He didn't say anything to Tony as he wasn't sure what was going on – he figured Tony had a million reasons to be kicking something. "He had a couple box cutters on him. One blade had blood on it, it's getting tested now. How are things going here?"

Tony rubbed his face and stared at Michelle who was fixated on the ground. Jim was the only one to offer him a response. "Well I can tell you the blood on the box cutters will be Michelle's. There are 2 deep wounds on her ribs – I believe he must have jabbed her with it and then turned it around. Here...we have hit a bumpy patch but we will work through it. As soon as possible I need to stitch Michelle."

Tony spoke loudly to Michelle before Jim barely had finished what he was saying. "Who was it? How many of them and how many times?"

"I don't know with Pault, mainly what you saw I guess. Just once with Luke."

"You know his name?"

Michelle couldn't believe what she was hearing. "And what the hell is that suppose to mean Tony?"

Tony caught himself this time. "Nothing.....sorry, it means nothing. I just can't handle the thought of those men touching you. I'm sorry Chelle. Can you tell us exactly what happened with Luke?"

"I would rather not. There is no reason why I have to go into it all." Tony seemed angry enough, she shudder to think how he would react to her when he knew more.

Tony rubbed his face so hard. His mouth was open a little and his eyes looked glazed over. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He thought once he got her back in his arms that everything would be ok, it was almost easier when he didn't know how his Michelle was treated. He could not accept Michelle shutting him out though. As much as it hurt, he knew it hurt her more and he wanted to help her through it.

"There is every reason." They caught eye contact. Even from far away anybody could see the fear in her eyes. His words were stern, "I deserve to know." Jim, Tom and Chappelle were shocked at Tony. He didn't seem to realize how he was speaking to her was upsetting. They could see how crushed he was.

There was no energy left in Michelle. An image of Luke flashed through her mind but also didn't leave. She began replaying what had happened, as she relived the terror her body tensed up "He was really big.....big and strong...I couldn't even fight him off. He threw me onto the bed and told me to lie still, but I kept trying to get away. Every time I moved he would punch me until eventually I couldn't move anymore..."

Tony was shaking his head and tears had begun to roll down his cheeks. He put a hand out to her but she brushed it off. She desperately wished she could be in his arms but it felt as though with every word she spoke she lost him a little more. He looked even more lost. Tony didn't know where to look, how to stand – his body felt like it was falling apart. He was no longer in control of himself.

"Have you heard enough Tony, do you want me to stop?"

"No, no....no – I want you to finish."

"He grabbed at my chest over and over, he was hurting me." She started to cry. "He kept shoving his tongue down my throat. That made me so sick. I kept trying to get away but he would just hit me again. Then he went to....well...ummm....you know....and I freaked out and told him I had an STD and I was infectious."

Finally it felt like her Tony broke through this protective mask he had created for himself and offered Michelle a small smile. "Wow Chelle, that was so smart. I'm proud of you."

"I thought for a second that just maybe he'd leave and I'd be ok but then he goes, 'you sick bitch' or something like that and slapped me across the face. Then he said, 'doesn't matter there are plenty more things you can do for me'.

Jim and Chappelle both took a couple steps closer to her. "I can't believe it, I am so sorry this happened to you Michelle.....keep going."

"He sat up and started undoing his belt and pants. I was begging and pleading with him not to make me do it. Tony...I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do, I felt so sick. I was begging." Her crying was becoming more and more hysterical. Her breaths were short making her become even more light headed. Again Tony tried to go to Michelle and hold her but she pushed him away.

Tony crouched to the ground and put his head in his hands as he cried. He was so scared that Michelle wouldn't let him come near her. He figured it was because of what he let happen to her. He couldn't believe he hadn't protected Michelle enough and this is what had happened. They should have got to the house earlier....better still he should have never let her go.

"Keep going..."

"He pinned my arms above my head and started kissing me again on my mouth and ....on....umm....you know...my chest. Then this guy saved me, he came to the door and started yelling at Luke to get off me. He said if Pault found out he had touched me he would kill him. It was the longest minute of my life as he decided what to do, then he jumped off me and left the room."

The room was silent, nobody knew what to do or say. Chappelle and Jim both made their way over and hugged Michelle. She almost collapsed in their arms. Tony stood next to her, "Are you going to let me touch you now?"

She barely nodded but Tony would take anything right now. He pulled her in for a hug. It felt awkward. She hated the silence, "See I shouldn't have told you anything.....nobody can even speak." She pulled out of Tony's arms and stepped back. Tony looked hurt. She couldn't stay with him like that though – it was like he couldn't even look at her. From some of the things he had said to her she knew he was incredibly angry with her. She was hurt that he had pushed her and made her tell him what happened and then he got upset with her like that. She gave it one more attempt to break the silence. "What are you thinking Tony?"

His eyes explored the entire room never once catching hers. "About him.....Luke....Pault...their fucking hands all over you, the way Pault looked at you. The way he touched you and the fact that you won't touch me...."

"Stop it Tony! Don't say that...."

"You asked me..." He barely knew what was even going on. He was just beside himself that she kept pushing him away. How could she do that? Wasn't she supposed to need him right now? How could she just give up on him like that? Didn't she care how hurt he was....how much he needed her right now?

Michelle was now not only so close physically to giving up but also emotionally. "Why are you being like this Tony? I wanted to know how you are feeling."

Tony snapped, "How the fuck do you think I'm feeling?"

He could have shot himself for exploding like that. He was scared to open his mouth again, not knowing if he would be able to control himself. He was a devastated mess. Everything he had felt for the last 3 days was hitting him like a pile of bricks at the same time he was learning about how the love of his life was being tortured and assaulted. He wondered if Michelle could ever look at him the same, he had promised to look after her but he hadn't. That's why she wouldn't let him go near her. He may have been there in the end but too much had already happened. When he went to apologize again this time, he had a sinking feeling he had already used up his chances.

"I didn't mean that. God I am sorry - I'm losing it here Chelle – you keep pushing me away..."

Michelle looked sadly at Tony. He didn't know what to do, he didn't even know where to start. He tried again...

"It should be you telling me how you are feeling. You shouldn't have cared about what I was thinking – it's you that has got to be ok."

Michelle knew her words would be enough to completely send herself over the edge but in a strange way it felt like she was protecting herself.

"Just walk away Tony. Just let me be on my own. I knew this wasn't going to work.....I wanted it too, I thought you did too."

He felt like his heart stopped. "Just walk away? What's the matter with you? What do you mean you knew it wasn't going to work?"

"Everything is the matter. I mean it Tony, just leave me." Their eye contact was incredibly powerful as they both tried to read what was going on in the other one. She dropped her eyes to locate her t-shirt which was just a few feet away. She felt like death warmed up as she made her way to pick it up. She thought she was going to pass out or collapse the entire time. She picked up the t-shirt and her frustration made her yell at Tony, "JUST GO. YOU DON'T WANT THIS......PLEASE GO."

He watched her struggle to unravel her bloody t-shirt. He pulled his off and took it straight over to her. He handed her his shirt, "take mine sweetheart." He forced a small smile for her hoping it would entice her to take the top. She began to cry even more. She let her top dangle like she just didn't know what to do.

He turned his t-shirt out the right way and then stepped in so he was standing just inches from her. He gently took her hands and lifted them as far as she could stand and then he slid the new t-shirt down over her arms and head. He pulled it out so it covered down to most of her thighs. He stepped back a little so he didn't crowd her. He could tell she felt better finally being covered.

"Michelle, you can't end this......God we haven't even had a chance to start. Please....tell me what you meant when you said you knew it wasn't going to work."

"Tony..... I knew when Luke was trying to....you know....that once you found out that you would never want to touch me, or be with me. I understand...."

Tony let out a huge breath he had been holding for a long time. He walked to Michelle and stood right in front of her. He very slightly shook his head with the tiniest little grin. "Chelle, there is nothing in the world that would make me not want to be with you." He tucked a long curl behind her ear and then cupped her face with his hand and massaged her cheek with his thumb. "I just feel so sick thinking about that bastard hurting you – all I care about is making sure you are ok...."

"But Tony, what about Pault? How could you want to be with me after you know what they have done? I mean, I feel so ashamed. I thought you would never want me back, especially after what you saw with Pault."

He put his other hand on her neck and brought himself in closer to her. He kissed her firmly on the forehead. "You sweetheart should feel nothing but proud of yourself. I am in awe of you and how courageous you have been. Watching Pault with you was the hardest thing I have ever had to see. My heart just shattered when I watched him hurt you. I don't even associate what he did to you to me wanting to be with you – he is scum Chelle. What I am scared about is how this might affect us being together."

"How do you mean?" She finally allowed herself to put her hand on his chest. Tony felt relieved, he had been so conscious of what she had wanted to do.

"Well you might not want to have me touch you at all after what has happened. Which would be understandable. And I'm not sure how I should be with you.....I don't want to hurt you, upset you or scare you."

"Everything would be different between you and me and what happened with them. You care about me, they despised me. I've never felt unsafe or scared with you before."

Tony covered her hand that was on his chest with his hand. He gently locked fingers with her. "I care about you more than you can imagine. I promise I'll always make you feel safe..."

Michelle's legs buckled a little under her and Tony had to throw his arms around her to keep her from falling. "Aahhh Chelle, you have to trust me right to look after you. You have just got to let me take over now, I know what needs to happen. You can barely even stand, you are not capable of handling this on your own..."

Tony was beginning to become a little blurry to Michelle. She shut her eyes and then opened them again but everything was still getting hazy. She had never in her entire life felt worse than she did at this moment. She was having trouble completely understanding what Tony had even said. She was almost shocked to learn she was talking when she heard her voice. "You couldn't even look at me before. As soon as his name was mentioned you just let go of me. You guys just care about getting your answers, it doesn't count how I feel. I'm trying to look after myself because you don't want to...."

She had shut her eyes to block out the blurriness but she couldn't get them open again. She could hear his voice, it sounded like he was shouting but she couldn't make out what he was saying. A deep pressure on her side and lower back made her yelp. She had no control over herself, it felt like she was falling into a dark hole.

Jim and Tom helped Tony carry her body back over to the bed. She wasn't unconscious because she was mumbling, her body still kept moving around and her eyes continued to flutter open and closed. Jim had to keep pushing Tony out of his way as he tried to work over Michelle. Finally Tony found a spot out of their way standing at the top of her head. His tears would splash on her forehead and trail down her temples. Her last words continued to cut through his body as he prayed she would be ok.

**Please review and let me know what you think...THANKS!!**


	13. 13

**Sorry this took so long - this stuff is really hard to write. I don't want to skip and just go as if everything is all peachy straight away because there would be stuff they have to work through but it is hard to write it out - specially when it's not like I can draw on personal experience.  
  
Anyways, I hope it is alright. Please let me know what you think.**

**As always, THANKS for reading...**

They gave Michelle some injections for pain and decided to transfer her to the hospital. Tony stayed by her side the entire way, the whole time waiting for her to stir again so he could talk to her. In the back of the medics van she had mumbled his name a couple of times but that was all he could get out of her. The injection she had been given helped the pain but it also sedated her as well. At the hospital Michelle had been moved into a private room whilst she waited to be taken down to surgery. They had called in a particular doctor and there would be a short wait until he was ready. Tony was pacing the room and finally Michelle began to stir.

"Tony..."

He rushed to her side and leaned over her with one hand on each side of her body. "Chelle, how do you feel?"

"Where am I? Tony, what's going on?"

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "You are in hospital.....they are going to give you a general Chelle so that they can get you all fixed up."

"Like I am having an operation? I don't want one Tony..."

He moved his hand from her cheek and began to stroke her hair. "Michelle you have to – it is easier than having to be awake while they do everything. You are going to be ok, I'm here with you."

Michelle looked around the room to take in her surroundings, her eyes kept returning back to Tony's gaze. He looked so tired and stressed out. His eyes were red and swollen with dark circles under them. He was unshaven and a little bit pale. She felt guilty seeing him like that. "You should go Tony, you need to rest up yourself."

"Go? I don't want to go – I'm not going anywhere Chelle."

They both went quiet. Michelle stared down at her bed, unsure of what to say or do. She was sure of how in love with Tony she was but she was completely unsure of how she felt about what had happened – she didn't know how Tony really felt. She wished she could just disappear, she wondered how she could ever face anybody.

"Michelle I need to warn you that division is going to come in tonight to start questioning you. I am going to have these bastards tried through our system."

"Tonight? I can't believe this. Do I have to?"

Tony watched the pain in Michelle's eyes whilst he nodded his head. He wished he knew how to ease it for her. He went to stroke her cheek again but she moved her head away from him to the side. Michelle was slipping away from him, he put his hand on her chin and moved her face back so she was looking at him again. "Ok, I know you are hating me right now, I know how much I have let you down. I'll never forgive myself for what has happened to you, but you have got to give me a chance to..."

Michelle interrupted him, "I don't hate you Tony. I don't hate you....why...how could I hate you?"

Tony was taken by surprise at her outburst. "Because I didn't find you in time, I didn't protect you. I promised I would and I let you down..."

He watched as tears began to stream down her cheeks. He didn't understand, was she crying because he had just reminded her of what he had done or had he said or done something else wrong? He wanted to wipe her tears but he couldn't handle her brushing him off again. Was it causing her too much pain having him there? He was studying her hoping for some answers.

"None of that was your fault Tony. You didn't give up and you found me....you saved me. You protected me, you did everything and more than possible. There is nothing to forgive yourself for, I can't believe you even thought that."

Tony sat on the edge of the bed and leaned back in close. For this brief moment his heart didn't actually hurt after he had heard what she said. Her words only confused him more though. "I don't understand then Chelle....how come you keep pushing me away?"

"Because...because....I just don't know how you can look at me. I know you said you don't care but I don't understand how....you could barely look at me when I told you, when his name came up you totally let go of me...."

As she spoke Tony cupped her face and began shaking his head saying 'No'. Tears began to well in his eyes as he tried to find the words that would convince her of his true feelings. "Chelle it was just devastating for me to hear all that....it is so hard for me to hear about how these people hurt you. All that matters is you..."

"Then why won't you guys listen to me?"

"I'm listening to you Chelle....tell me what you need sweetheart." He watched her, it seemed like she was close to opening up to him but not quite there. He picked up he hand and kissed the back of it. "Anything you want baby."

"I wanted you to listen to me Tony. I couldn't handle...I can't handle...." Michelle stopped and took a deep breath so she could start again. "I just wanted a shower, to fall apart for a couple minutes. I wanted you to hold me for a while, you know let me sleep. All you all care about though is getting your answers...."

Tony put his hands on each side of her head and stroked the hair back above her ears. He leaned his head in close so their faces were only inches apart. He jumped in before she could finish. "It's not like that Michelle. God, do you know how much I wish I could have just scooped you up in my arms and not let you go? Do you know how much I want to just take you home and never let you out of my sight again? Do you know how hard it is for me to see any other person touch you – even if they are trying to help you?" Tears had been running down his cheeks while he spoke but he wiped his face dry and took a step back from her.

"But I can't do that Michelle until I know you are alright. I can't stand seeing you hurt like this.....every bruise on your body scares the crap out of me. I've spent days thinking I had lost you....I'm not taking any chances with you Chelle. It hurt like hell before not letting you get up but all that matters right now is getting you ok again....even if that means you are going to be angry with me." He stopped and stared at her for a moment.

No words were needed, her face said it all. She was just completely overwhelmed – it was clear she was trying to make sense of how she felt. Tony was being completely straight up with so she knew exactly where he stood. He figured that it might help her feel more secure if he completely understood how he felt and where he was coming from.

"I'm here now, you don't need to worry about me anymore. How come everyone else is calling the shots for me? Why doesn't it matter how I feel?"

Tony felt defensive that just because she was back she expected he would be fine and not worry. "Everyone else isn't calling the shots Michelle, I am. I'm seeing to it that everything is taken care of. Of course it matters how you feel – don't you know how much I care for you?"

He tried to keep his voice lowered but it was fuelled with so much passion and stress he really had no control over his volume. "I'm so sorry that it seems like I am being so hard on you Chelle, that's the last thing I wanted. You understand that don't you?"

Michelle did and she didn't. The agent/common sense side of her appreciated how hard this must be on Tony. She knew that he was being so protective over her and doing everything to make sure the situation is handled just right. It was making her feel though that he didn't really understand how she felt. She just wanted to see the sensitive side of Tony – he had hidden himself so well behind his protector but she needed to know how it had really affected him as well.

"When I called you Tony from that guy's cell phone you seemed so much more understanding of me. You could cry to me then and you weren't angry with me for falling apart – you said all you cared about was me coming home with you. Now you won't even let me...."

Tony raised his voice and cut her off. "That is not true. Michelle I'm trying to get through this. I can't let myself become a mess now – you need me to be here for you. I know you are here but this is not over for me yet. It won't be until you are ok. I want you to completely just depend and lean on me now. I am protecting you and I want you to be able to come to me for anything. No matter how angry you are with me, I need you to trust me now in looking after you. You can't do this by yourself – you need help and you need to be pushed and kept from running away..."

Michelle's voice was so much quieter and weaker than his it was a wonder she was even able to butt in and take over. "I've had to look after myself for the last 3 days of all of this and I know I did the best I could. Doesn't that prove to you that I am ok by myself, I can handle this my way?"

Tony walked back to Michelle and stood close leaning over her. This time he was able to let his voice be a little more soothing. "You did great Chelle, that is why you have to give yourself a break. You use to trust me, you have always let me look after you.....how come you don't want to let me in now Chelle? Is it because you feel like I betrayed your trust by not protecting you from all this?"

Tony watched as Michelle struggled to know what to say. His stomach hurt so much he found himself bending over a little more trying to ease the pain. He felt like he was losing her and he just didn't know what to do. "Don't you remember what happened between us before this all happened? You said you love me Chelle and that you want to be with me. Don't you still want that? Don't you want me to care for you?"

Tony had been leaning over Michelle but as he said his last words he stepped back as tears formed in his eyes. He looked at the ground and rubbed the side of his face while he shuffled his feet from side to side. "Tony..." As Michelle called his name she reached her hand out for him. He didn't lift his head, he didn't want Michelle to see his tears. "Sweetheart.......please sweetie." He raised his head slowly this time and looked her in the eyes. She felt horrible seeing his tear stained face. He looked heartbroken and for the first time vulnerable. Tears streamed down her face as she reached for him again, this time he took it and walked in closer to her again.

"I love you so much Tony. You are everything to me, that's why this is so hard for me. I'm scared to face this. I don't know how to answer everyone's questions. I'm scared you will change your mind about me. All I wanted was you, just to have you hold me - I hated having to take my t-shirt off in front of everyone before."

"I love you more now than ever before if that is possible. The t-shirt broke my heart Michelle because I knew how horrific that must have been for you to do but you needed serious help, no one thought twice about it because they were just concerned about you. You collapsed on me Chelle, everyone is scared to death about you. I tried to cover you as much as possible..."

Michelle remembered how good it did feel when he had done that. She was beginning to feel defeated in all this, there wasn't any energy to be wasted arguing. Whatever was said or done she loved Tony and would ultimately do whatever necessary to make him happy. She slunk back down into the bed, "I know...I just..."

Tony could see Michelle was slowly coming around. He stroked her cheek and tried to encourage her to continue, "I just? Tell me anything Chelle"

"It's ok, I'll do what-ever you want me to do Tony. I won't argue anymore."

Tony gave her a tiny smile and kissed her on the forehead. "Let's just talk things out more beautiful to make sure we are on the same wave length, ok? Now I want you to tell me what you are thinking."

"I think about the fights we had before all this and you were right, I can't handle it. I feel like a fool for thinking I could have."

"Michelle I am so proud of you for how you have handled it..."

She started to cry and Tony began to wipe her tears with his thumbs. "Remember when I was laying down and you came in and lay behind me and just held me? You kissed my neck and held me tight – I felt so safe. I thought about that a lot over the last few days – sometimes I even tried to fool myself that you were there with me." As she spoke he had been nodding his head in agreement that that was how he had been feeling as well.

"Tony I am so sorry that the first time we kissed I ran out on you..."

"Honey why are you even worrying about that?"

"I've thought about that too. I also thought about how when you and I went back to your place that day how stupid I was for sleeping. I had those few precious hours and I spent them sleeping instead of being with you..."

"Michelle..." He looked at her adoringly and then kissed her on the cheek. "You needed the sleep. I loved being able to be that close to you – that was perfect for me." He took her hand. "I mean, I got to explore and hold your gorgeous body in my arms, I got to kiss you and sleep with you wrapped up next to me." He leaned back in so their lips were only inches apart, he gave her a very cheeky grin. "Trust me, that time we had gave me plenty to picture and dream about." After giving her a wink he allowed their lips to meet for a very sweet and tender kiss.

They both smiled as he pulled back "Chelle it is just so great to see you smile again....God I've missed that beautiful smile." This made her smile grow even bigger, he traced her lips with his thumb before stealing another kiss.

A couple of nurses appeared at the door ready to take Michelle to surgery. "We are all already for you Michelle."

Tony nodded at the nurses and then turned back. Michelle took Tony's forearm, she looked panic stricken. "Tony.....I've never had an operation before, I can't do this..."

He stroked her hair and leaned himself back in close so the nurses wouldn't hear. "Sweetheart everything is going to be ok. You will just drift off to sleep and then when you wake up, I'll be right here next to you. You will feel so much better baby, I promise." He kissed her lips and then her forehead, "I'll be here the whole time, ok."

Michelle nodded her head, loosened her grip on his arm and tickled her fingers across it. "Thank you Tony, I'm so glad you are here with me."

"You just get this over with so that I can take you home, ok?"

Tony stood back and let the nurses wheel Michelle from the room. He walked along side her for as long as he was allowed.


	14. 14 and 15

Tony was promised he would be beeped before Michelle was to be bought back to her room. He used this time to take care of some details with CTU, complete his debrief and he even managed to sleep for an hour. He was talking to Troy and Chappelle in the waiting room when he was beeped that Michelle was ready.

Tony met them while they were wheeling her back into the room, her doctor followed. Tony rushed to her side but she was sound asleep. From what he could see of her face and arms she looked so much better. She had been washed, even her hair. All of her cuts were neatly stitched and bandaged, there wasn't much that could be done though about the severe bruises. Her right eye was completely black and swollen and the bruise even continued down the side of her cheek as if she had been punched multiple times in her face.

Tony stepped outside with the doctor. They shook hands.

"I'm Tony Almeida, Michelle's partner and work colleague."

"Hi Tony, I'm Justin Wallis. Michelle should wake within the next few hours. The longer she sleeps the better because she needs to sleep off the general or else she will feel sick."

"Thanks for everything Dr. Wallis, can you explain exactly what injuries Michelle has?"

"Please call me Justin. I was about to head and grab a coffee, would you like to join me and I'll walk you through everything? Michelle definitely won't wake before you return."

Tony was pleased to have such a good doctor taking care of Michelle. He greatly appreciated the time he was offering him as well. "That would be great, thank you Justin."

They talked a little about Tony and Michelle's line of work and what had happened to Michelle as they walked to the cafeteria and got their coffees. Justin until then, was unaware of most of the details. Once they were at a private table Justin began to fill Tony in.

"Basically with Michelle most of her injuries are what you have seen. I had to stitch up 7 - what I assume were knife wounds. 2 on her arms, 1 on the back of her neck, 2 deep ones on her rib cage and 2 on her left leg. I found 5 cigarette burns which I covered with burn cream and bandaged…"

Tony had lowered his eyes and was roughly rubbing the side of his face. "I can't believe what she has been through."

"Are you ok for me to continue Tony?"

"Yeah."

"Severe bruising all down her left side. I think those bruises are from being kicked repeatedly." Justin looked across the table at the broken man in front of him. He had seen plenty of men in this state, exhausted and overcome with fear for their wife or partner. Tony was different though, he managed to hold himself in such a manner that it was very difficult to know what he was thinking. Justin figured this was from years of being in Tony's line of work – you couldn't be a very good agent if your face gave you away every time. It was the watery eyes that gave Tony away and the desperation in his voice when he spoke. Justin wondered if Tony would be able to handle the next bit of information he needed to tell him.

"Tony, this is going to be very hard for you to hear…"

Tony lifted his head until he had eye contact with Michelle's doctor. "That's ok, go ahead." Tony didn't even know how to brace himself anymore for bad news.

"We did a quick run through of Michelle's injuries with her while she was still awake, sometimes that can help us put the pieces together. We found some very deep bruising on Michelle's thigh and lower stomach that suggested to us that she had been sexually assaulted. I asked a nurse to retrieve me a rape kit but as soon as I said this Michelle said she did not need one and became very defensive. She refused to not only discuss the matter any further but also for us to do any further investigation. Of course we respected her wishes but I strongly urge you to discuss it over with her…"

In a strange way, Tony almost found himself relieved to be able to discuss this with someone else, especially someone away from CTU. "We thought as much as soon as we found her, in fact one of her captors even told me she had been. I actually saw the main assailant kissing her and running his hands all over her but she swears that although someone tried, she was not actually raped. She tricked the man into believing she had an STD and so he got off her…"

"Do you believe it didn't happen Tony?"

"I believe Michelle, maybe I just want to believe her. The end of what she said matched exactly what one of the men we have in holding is saying as well."

"Do me a favor Tony, when she wakes up, try and talk to her about it again."

"I will. Was there anything else?"

"She is lucky, drinking water like she did saved her life. She was seriously lacking in vitamins but nothing we can't fix with a drip. She lost a decent amount of blood over the 3 days but again, she can recover from that. Her body is just so weak from being beaten repeatedly. She has massive internal bruising but amazingly no broken bones."

"What happens now? How long will she be here for?"

"At least over night, I'll see how she goes but I think it will do her more good to be able to recover at home with her own support. At this point I would like to just play things by ear and see how she goes."

Tony stayed chatting with Michelle's doctor for another few minutes before making his way back up to her room. When Tony walked in there was another man standing over Michelle as she slept. Tony stood in the doorway for a few moments before the man noticed him and Tony watched as the man studied Michelle.

"Excuse me, who are you?"

The man looked at Tony almost like he knew who he was, he instantly lowered his eyes away from contact with Tony's and began to head for the door of the room. "I am supposed to take the young lady for x-rays but as she is still asleep I guess I'll come back in an hour or so."

Tony had a very strong feeling that something wasn't right. "She has already had x-rays, why does she need more?" He was just fishing, surely if Michelle was going for x-rays her doctor would have just mentioned it to him.

The man was only a couple feet from Tony now and still wasn't able to offer him any eye contact, as he spoke he continued to begin stepping out of her room. "I'm not sure sir, he doctor just asked a few minutes ago to bring her down for further tests."

Tony went to ask him another question but he hurried away. The man wasn't in any kind of uniform nor did he have a badge or tag that Tony could see. Seeing as Tony had just been with Dr. Wallis he knew the doctor had done no such thing. He sat next to Michelle and had him paged to come to Michelle's ward. While Tony waited for him to get there he checked Michelle over and then stroked her hair. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach, something just wasn't right. Justin Wallis appeared at the door.

"Tony, is everything ok?"

He stood. "I don't know, I don't think so. When I got back to the room a man I didn't recognize was standing right over Michelle. He had no uniform or badge and as soon as I came in he was in a huge rush to leave. He dropped his head as if he was hiding his face, he never gave me eye contact. He said that you had asked him a few minutes ago to come up and get Michelle to do some more x-rays. He ran off before I had even finished talking to him…."

"Tony I didn't order any x-rays. Let me place a call and double check before we go any further that another doctor didn't for some reason…..I doubt that very much though."

Tony just nodded his head. He felt sick. He just sat and stared at Michelle as he waited for Justin to return from making his call. Her eyes opened a little and then closed again, her fingers moved ever so slightly. Tony took her hand, "Chelle?" Her eyes opened a little more this time and she rolled her head a little so she could see him.

"Is it over?"

Tony leaned over her and kissed her forehead, he stroked her cheek with his thumb as he spoke to her. "It sure is sweetie. You did great. I'm proud of you baby."

His heart skipped a little bit as he saw a little smile spread across her face. She was waking up a little more but she was still very groggy. "Tony, you are here….just like you promised you would be…"

"Of course I am Chelle…."

"Can you believe after all this time that we are actually together Tony?"

Tony relaxed a little and smiled. "I have to keep pinching myself Chelle so that I know it is really happening. I can't wait until I can take you home and we have time just the 2 of us."

Michelle's words were very slow and drawn out as she was still quite drugged. She was saying everything she was thinking, for the first time there was no nervous protective guard up. "I wanted you to kiss me so long ago Tony."

As much as he loved everything she was saying, he was also in awe of how beautiful she was – she was perfect to Tony. "I wish I had known that Chelle, I thought about holding you and kissing you the day I interviewed you. I just never thought I had a chance…"

Michelle was smiling, Tony swore he could almost see her cheeky smile breaking through. "Tony, you are so different from anyone else I've ever met. You are just so precious and sweet. I know how afraid you are of being hurt…"

She had caught him off guard. "Isn't everybody?" Tony knew she was talking about Nina but he hated even hearing her name, he hated more that Michelle knew he had slept with someone responsible for so much destruction and pain.

"It's ok to be afraid Tony…"

Tony and Michelle held eye contact. His eyes stung and felt watery and he could feel his pain beginning to seep through his pores. He'd spent so long forcing it all to stay inside but now it felt as though it was slipping out and he had no control. It felt like Michelle was challenging him – how was it that just because she spoke them, he believed her words. He wasn't sure what to say, he wanted to tell her everything he felt. That he was afraid, he was scared as hell of losing her. He knew she wasn't capable of hurting him in the ways Nina had but because he had cared for Nina but loved her, she had the power to hurt him in a way he couldn't recover from.

"I wouldn't hurt you Tony."

"Chelle you're not responsible for protecting me from my past you know…"

Michelle was struggling to keep her eyes open. She didn't want Tony to think she was falling asleep so she pushed herself to keep awake. She could see the fear in his eyes, the same pain he had carried since she had met him. "Yeah I am."

"No Michelle you're not. You are the reason I am able to move on from all that, it's because of you that I have been able to learn how to trust again and open up. That all means more to me than you'll ever know. None of that keeps me safe from feeling pain like that again…"

"Do you think you have moved on Tony? I can still see the pain in your eyes from loving her…"

Tony couldn't let her finish. "I didn't love her. You have it wrong, so wrong. I cared about her but I always knew deep down it wasn't going anywhere. What I hate is that I let so many people down by being blind to her. I hate that someone who I opened myself to could betray me so easily. Of course I have moved on, I've just learnt my lessons from the whole situation so I won't have to go there ever again."

Michelle took a deep breath. "Do you have to protect yourself from me?"

Tony studied the machine on the other side of the bed. She had asked a question he couldn't possibly answer. "You carry pain from your past as well Michelle. Everyone does. I see yours in the way you carry yourself, I see it in the way you guard yourself and carry it all on your shoulders. Look how you try and protect yourself from me, I've had to force you to let me help you and be here for you through all this."

Tony hadn't meant to attack her like he had, he had just become defensive because she had started to get to close to the truth of how he felt. He had spent most of the year protecting himself from Michelle by not making a move no matter how much he wanted too. If Michelle walked away from him now he would never be able to put it behind him. She was important enough for him to put his heart on the line for but that didn't mean she wasn't going to hurt him. He had just hurt her though by attacking her instead of being honest – so ironic considering being honest was something he expected her to only ever be with him.

Michelle just slowly nodded her head like she accepted what he had said. Michelle did except what he had said because it was all true, she was also allowing herself to accept that Tony did protect himself from her. It didn't feel fair though that he wanted to use it against her. Somehow the conversation had taken a turn she hadn't expected. Although it was only seconds ago she couldn't work out how they had gotten to this point.

Tony nervously stroked her hair, she slightly moved her head from his touch. "Look Michelle, I didn't mean to go off at you like that. I just wish you could see that you have put up walls with me, you are more afraid and yet you have been less willing to put your guard down and let me in."

Michelle didn't say anything which made Tony feel extremely nervous. "Chelle?"

After he said her name for the 3rd time she finally spoke. "What do you want me to say Tony?"

"I don't know….what your thinking. You are barely speaking so I know you are thinking a lot of things."

"I was just listening to what you were saying Tony. I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything. I wasn't saying it was bad that you are afraid of being hurt. I simply wanted you to know that you could count on the fact that I'd never hurt you. I had to protect myself over what's happened, not just with you but with everyone. That's what I had to do to get through."

"I don't understand why you think you have to be so protective of yourself with me over the last few days."

"I am trying to let you in Tony, how do you not see that? I've already told you lots of what happened. What more do you expect? How are you angry with me when you do the same thing?"

"Because the only thing I am afraid of is losing you – that's it. I know how shit things can be and I know how amazing you make me feel and I never want to go back. It already feels like I lose a bit of you when you shut me out."

"So it's not about Nina and what happened?"

Tony was talking loudly with a stressed tone. "No not at all. I mean for a long time it made me very wary of an office relationship but that went out the window the more I got to know you. I learnt from that how low I can feel and I swore to myself I'd never allow anything to let me feel like that again, no matter how it was caused. Now already I came this close to losing you to work duty and now that we have been given a 2nd chance I can't let anything get in the way of that."

"Fine, what do you want to know?"

"Your doctor told me how you refused the rape kit and how upset you got. They thought your injuries really point to…….well, you know. I want you to talk to me about this."

Michelle didn't try to stop the tears falling down her cheek but she did stop Tony from trying to catch them. "I've already told you everything. Besides look how you were last time we talked about this."

"I swear Chelle you can tell me anything and I won't act like I did before – that was so unfair to you. It is so hard for me to hear but I need to know, I want to know. Why won't you let me touch you Michelle?"

"I am angry Tony. You do the whole 'I'm shutting you out crap' but you don't listen to me when I open up and tell you anyway. I was honest with you before, I told you what happened and you don't believe me."

"I'm sorry Chelle. I just had to ask, I had to make sure…."

Things were out of control and neither of them knew how it had gotten to such a bad point. Tony felt so tired and desperate. Seeing as Michelle wouldn't let him touch her anyway he stood back as he raised his voice at her. "Did you know that one of your captors told me over the phone that a few of them were having their way with you? I spent everything second after that absolutely crushed. It never took away from how much I love you, I was just so scared of how you must be feeling. None of this is about how I feel, it's about understanding so I can help you get through it."

Tony's words made them both calm down. They couldn't take their eyes off each other. Tony walked back over to Michelle and leaned over her. "We have to stop doing this Michelle. There is nothing in the world I care about more than you, there is nothing I want more than you."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, please. I'm the one that got defensive…."

Tony was interrupted by Dr. Wallis walking into the room.

"How are you feeling Michelle?"

Michelle wiped her eyes and pulled the covers up higher on her body. "I'm fine thanks."

"That's good. Umm Tony I spoke to all other doctors on duty…" He wasn't sure if he should be speaking about this in front of Michelle.

Tony looked at Michelle and then the doctor. "Umm Chelle I'm just going to chat to Dr. Wallis outside for a minute. Is that ok?"

"What's going on? What about the other doctors?"

"Nothing for you to worry about. I'd rather I just chat to Justin for a moment."

"Please don't keep something from me."

Justin walked closer to Tony and Michelle. "Michelle, Tony came into your room before when you were asleep and found an unidentified man in here. He had no uniform or badge and when Tony questioned him he said I had ordered more x-rays…..the thing is, I hadn't and neither had any other doctor in the hospital."

Michelle looked at them both. "What does this mean? Who do you think it was?"

Tony couldn't hide his concern. "I'm not completely sure Chelle but I am going to have your room guarded from now on."

"You think it's someone from Pault's gang, don't you Tony?"

"It's the answer that makes sense Chelle, but I don't want you to worry – I'm not going to let anyone near this room or you."

Michelle couldn't believe this wasn't over. Just the thought of all this not being over made her feel sick to the stomach. She had no energy or will to deal with a moment more of this. She pulled the covers up to her chin and rolled onto her side so her back faced Tony and Justin.

Tony pressed his hands against the covers and rubbed her back. "Chelle…"

"Just leave it Tony…..I can't do this anymore."

Tony walked to the other side of the bed, when she went to turn again he caught her and firmly held her so she was facing him. "What are you saying Chelle?"

"I'm saying just let it all go. You don't know what these guys are capable of or how many of them there are – if they want me then they will get to me. I can only imagine the revenge they want for Pault dead. Look what its doing to us, it's all too hard to fight."

Tony was so tense and his chest was almost too tight to breathe. He was so lost and so scared of opening his mouth in case he said the wrong thing. "Isn't it all worth the fight Michelle?"

"What am I fighting for Tony? We are just falling apart…"

"We are not falling apart Michelle! God, I can't believe you said that – how the hell can you say that?"

"Tony we just keep arguing. We've never fought and yet since we told each other how we feel we just keep hurting each other. I spent all that time fighting to be home with you, I guess I just didn't think it was going to be like this."

Tony sat on the side of the bed. He looked behind him to see that Justin had left the room, which helped. He wanted to stroke her hair or face but the thought of her moving away from him again made him keep his hands stuck to the bed. "Awwe Chelle, please don't look at it like that. Can't you see that every argument is caused by how much we care for one another? This has probably been the worst week of both of our lives, of course it is going to be hard. We are both just so pumped of emotions I think we are having trouble sorting through them. I want us to work Chelle, don't you?"

"I want it to be like how it was when we went back to your house for those few hours before I went into the field. That was perfect, do you remember how that felt?"

The thought made Tony smile. "I've been hanging on to that feeling Michelle. Remember how we were so nervous and quiet at the start? I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest when I finally got to put my arms around you and kiss your neck and shoulders. When you reached your arms around my neck and your body stretched out in my hands my entire body went completely weak. I felt so happy. Michelle can't you see how special it is between us? Isn't that worth fighting for?"

Tears were flowing down her face at a rapid rate. This time Tony pushed himself to take the risk and try and wipe her tears. She flinched at first but did allow him to touch her. Their eyes locked as he so gently wiped away each tear with his thumbs. His touch made Michelle feel safe again. "That is. You know the first time you kissed me in your office, you kissed me and held me in a way that was just so different than anything I'd ever experienced. It felt so much like you wanted me. So much how I had always wanted it to be. BUT I never wanted the arguing with you that came with those moments."

"Sweetheart it took those arguments for us to realize how we felt about each other. Michelle I wish you knew how much I wanted you, how much I want you now. I kissed and held you like that because I'd never felt more excited or passionate because I was finally taking our relationship to the next level and you were letting me. I don't think anyone could go through what we have in the last few days without getting upset with each other."

Tony's thumbs were still gently stroking his cheek and she caught one of them in her hand and kissed it slowly. Such a small gesture was almost bigger than any words could have been at this point. He looked at her and returned the smile she offered him.

Chappelle entered the room with Troy and Dr. Wallis.

Dr. Wallis took Michelle's stats while Troy and Chappelle spent a couple minutes checking with Tony and Michelle that they were both ok. Michelle could tell how relieved Chappelle was to have her out of his hands and in the hospital.

Tony looked back and forth between Michelle and the others. "Do you guys know what is going on? Have you worked out who the man in here was Dr. Wallis?"

Chappelle shook his head. "Tony we know nothing more than what you told Dr. Wallis. We do know that the man that was in here was in no way associated with the hospital."

"I want 24hr hour security on Michelle immediately."

Troy stepped forward. "We have already done a sweep of the hospital and I have posted a couple men through the building and one outside Michelle's door."

Tony squeezed Michelle's hand and spoke softly to her. "See sweetheart, it's going to be ok. No one can even get close to you."

Michelle forced herself to offer Tony a small smile. Inside though, her body was pounding with fear. CTU protection didn't give her the same sense of security it use to. She half listened to everyone discuss different scenarios and work through what options they had available to them. Numerous times she heard Chappelle mention that hopefully things would be a little clearer once Michelle had done her debrief. She was struggling to stay awake and so she tugged a little on Tony's hand. "Tony, I think I'm falling asleep."

He stood over her and stroked her hair. Their faces were only inches apart. "That's good Chelle, you need to get as much sleep as possible."

He kissed her forehead. When he went to sit back down next to her she grabbed his arm. "Are you going to be ok Tony?"

He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before opening them again. "I'm going to be just fine honey, and so are you. I don't want you to worry about anything but getting some rest ok?"

Her eyes closed, her headed nodded slightly and within seconds she was asleep. Tony watched her until Chappelle called him back into the conversation. It was agreed they would do Michelle's debrief once she woke up. Dr. Wallis had a cot bought into the room so that Tony could lay down himself and get a few hours of sleep. Chappelle headed back to CTU with Troy to interrogate a couple of the men they were holding.

Michelle woke to find the room dark and Tony sound asleep on a cot set up next to her bed. He looked so peaceful, she didn't dare stir him. She was dying for the bathroom and to stand up and stretch her legs. She slowly swung her feet off the bed and took a couple steps. She felt a little weak but so much better than she had for the last couple days. She took herself to the bathroom and then walked outside her door where she bumped into Dan, the guard from CTU. Dan had been working at CTU for a few months, Michelle knew him a little bit, but not like she knew most of the other agents. She suddenly felt very conscious that she was only wearing the hospital gown that was open at the back. Dan smiled at her.

"It's good to see you up Michelle. How are you feeling?"

"Ok thanks Dan. Thanks for being here."

"Sure thing. What are you doing up?"

"I feel like going for a little walk, maybe to get a juice or something. I need to stretch my legs a bit but I've only got this gown."

Dan looked up and down the hall way. "They put a couple CTU tops in the cupboard, I'll grab you one if you want and then I can escort you on a walk if you would like?"

"That sounds so good, thanks Dan. I really don't want to wake Tony – he has barely slept at all the last few days."

Dan quietly walked across the room and got one of the shirts for Michelle. She waited for him in the corridor and felt so much more comfortable once she had pulled it on. They turned and began to slowly make their way down the hall.

Tony woke with a fright, a nightmare he already couldn't remember. He noticed Michelle's bed empty and so he scanned the room. The bathroom door was open and she wasn't their either. He lunged out of bed and out of the room where he found no guard. This offered him a little relief as he figured Michelle and Dan must have gone for a walk or something. He went into the bathroom and splashed some water on his face before heading out of her room in the hope of catching up with them.

Tony checked the day room, waiting rooms, cafeteria and the small garden outside. He couldn't find Michelle anywhere. He began to get a sinking feeling in his stomach. He phoned the other 2 guards but they hadn't seen Michelle or Dan either, as far as they were aware they should have been at the room. They had been instructed to notify each other if they left their posts.

Tony had Michelle paged through-out the hospital numerous times but after 20 minutes when she didn't appear he called Chappelle.

"Ryan, I can't find Michelle or Dan. They are both gone. Did you have Dan take her somewhere?"

"No I didn't. How long has she been gone for? We have the place covered Tony, she will be there somewhere….probably off in the garden or something."

Tony raised his voice. "No, I've checked there twice now along with every other inch of this fucking place. The other 2 agents haven't seen or heard from Dan either. I've got a sickening feeling about this Ryan. Send Troy here now…"

"But Tony…"

"Please Ryan?! It's been an hour since I woke up – there is no way Michelle would have left for that long with out letting me know. Besides, she wasn't strong or well enough to do anything other than maybe walk up and down the hallway a little."

"We are on our way."

Tony had Michelle paged again and then called all hospital security, along with his own two guards into Michelle's room. He ordered for a complete search of the hospital and as far as 3 blocks around the building. After Chappelle and Troy arrived the 3 of them walked and talked, searching every room on the 2 top levels of the hospital.

3 hours after Tony had woken the search under Tony's instructions had been completed and no one had seen or found a thing. It was literally as though Michelle and Dan had vanished into thin air.

Tony collapsed onto the chair next to Michelle's bed, he sunk his head into his hands. Troy approached Tony and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Tony, the marked search has been completed and we have found nothing. Michelle is definitely not in the hospital….she's…gone."

Tony couldn't lift his head. "I promised her I wouldn't let anything else happen to her. She hadn't even been back with me for a day and I've lost her again. I just don't think I can handle this Troy…."


	15. 16 and 17

It was 10pm before the first lead came in. Tony had barely spoken a word to anyone for hours. He wasn't sure he knew how to string a sentence together anymore. His mind had gone completely numb. He lifted his head to look at Troy, who was just a blurry image standing in the doorway. He tried opening and shutting his eyes repeatedly to focus on him but he just wasn't able to. Tony settled for just listening to him.

"Tony, a gas station attendant in Merced called the local police because he felt unsure about a couple that came into his station a few hours ago…"

"Unsu…unsure how?"

"The clerk said that he saw the man slap the woman across the face. She apparently tried numerous times to get out of the car but he wouldn't let her. When the man came in to pay his bill he didn't take his eyes off the woman in the car once. The attendant could see that she quite clearly had a severe black eye…"

"How do you know if it was Michelle?"

Troy walked in closer to Tony. "Well we showed the clerk a photo of both Michelle and Dan and he seemed positive it was them…"

Tony tried to stand but his legs buckled underneath him and he stumbled back into the seat. His voice was desperate. "How long ago was this?"

"It was 5 hours ago now, the clerk spent hours tossing up whether he should bother calling someone about it or not. I guess he decided to once he had finished his shift."

"5 hrs?! They could be anywhere by now. Where is this guy now? I want to talk to him, I want to know…"

Troy didn't let Tony finish he stopped him by placing his hand on his shoulder. "Tony there is no point, he has said everything he knows. Now we need to concentrate on figuring out where they were heading."

Tony nodded his head and then took a moment to digest the new information. Within a couple of minutes he had snapped back into agent mode. He stood up and grabbed his phone.

"Tony, maybe you should leave this to us? Stay here, get some rest and let us bring Michelle home to you."

"No, I'm not stopping until I've got Michelle. There is no way I can just sit here any longer doing nothing."

Michelle looked at her watch, it was just after 10pm. A day and a half had passed since Dan had taken her from the hospital. If she was going to run, it had to be now. She looked over at Dan who was fighting his heavy eyes with everything he had. She prayed for the hundredth time in just the last hour that he would just give in and fall asleep. She knew she was exhausted but she had pushed past that herself, she was running on pure adrenalin. They had spent most of yesterday driving just to throw the police off. They had dumped the car 6 hours out of LA and driven a different one back. They were actually only 20 minutes from CTU but had anyone spotted them yesterday they would now think she was hours away. Dan had stopped talking to her hours ago. He had basically admitted to her that he had decided to help these men because they offered him the right price. He said he had never so much as gotten a parking ticket before now but he was desperate for money to look after his kids. Michelle didn't care anymore, she didn't care what his excuses were and she didn't care how much he was being paid. All she cared about was getting home to Tony. Dan would be handing her over at 12:30am, after that Michelle knew it would only be a matter of minutes before she was murdered. Dan had almost broken into tears when he told her that all of this was a payback for the death of Pault – it was also the best way they could send their message back to CTU. After Dan had shared that information with her he had just stopped talking, probably scared that he would completely lose it himself.

She looked down at her bare feet. A few of the stitches on her right ankle had ripped out and there was blood covering every inch of her foot. It didn't even hurt anymore, in fact her body felt so numb she barely had any pain at all. Michelle wondered if she was in shock because of how she was feeling. She thought she should be a broken down mess by now but instead she couldn't even bring herself to think about it all. It was like there was a wall in her mind blocking everything out, this at least was allowing her to rationally think about how she was going to get out of this situation. She was handcuffed once again to the bedpost but the cuffs were not actually locked around her foot. Dan had stupidly told her to lock herself back up after he had let her go to the bathroom. She closed the clasp but not completely and he had only checked the one attached to the bed. He had watched her do it so it obviously never even crossed his mind the cuff wasn't closed all the way.

Chappelle looked down at Tony with great sympathy. Tony had finally accepted an injection to help him sleep. He had barely stopped since Michelle had disappeared, they literally had to shove some food down his throat and everyone was worried at how quiet he had gone. He would say what he had to as far as the case was going but he didn't offer anyone anything more than that. Chappelle called in the CTU doctor and basically begged Tony to see him. Not that he had ever shown it but Chappelle had a soft spot for Tony after everything that had happened with Nina. He greatly respected the way Tony kept himself together after that day. The pain in Tony's eyes had been haunting but that had disappeared since Michelle had come into their lives. If Chappelle was honest, he was jealous of the two of them. It was obvious they would make a great couple, the chemistry between them was something special. The vibrating of his phone in his pocket broke his train of thought.

Tony's eyes flipped open. Someone had been tugging on his arm and yelling his name. "What? Is it Michelle?" As he spoke he realized that there were 5 men standing in the room. Chappelle was standing at the back with his head down.

Brad Hammond looked like he had seen a ghost, his eyes were huge and red but his skin was completely pale. He shifted his feet back and forth as he started to speak. "Tony, they….we….have…I…"

"What? What the hell is going on?"

"Tony a body was found in a park reserve about half an hour from here. The body matches Michelle's description completely…"

Tony stared deeply into Brad's eyes and didn't say a word. Minutes passed and he didn't move, he barely even blinked. Suddenly he jumped to his feet and charged into the bathroom where he proceeded to vomit repeatedly. None of the agents moved or spoke, they simply waited patiently for him to return.

Tony started yelling at Brad before he had even opened the door to walk back in. He stayed on the other side of the room with one hand on his hip and the other was roaming between scratching his face and hair. "It could be fucking anybody, who did the description match?"

"Tony we faxed over Michelle's photo and they feel fairly confident it is her. We need you to come down and do an identification….we can't get a hold of any of her family…"

Tony began pacing the room back and forth. "NO, NO…FUCK NO. It's not her, it can't be her."

Brad kept calm, he could feel sweat running down the side of his cheeks and his hands were shaking. "I'm so sorry Tony. We are all so sorry this is happening. You need to come down though immediately……if it's not her Tony we need to keep at our search…"

This was all Tony needed to hear. "I'll go to the car." He pushed past the agents in the room and with his head to the ground headed straight to one of the cars. He could not believe what he was about to have to do. If he had to look at Michelle's lifeless body he knew it would shatter him forever. He thought about how worthless his life would feel if he had lost Michelle. The idea of ending things if it was her to avoid the pain played across his mind. He didn't know what he felt more, guilt, sadness, anger – whatever it was, it rolled into the deepest devastation he had ever felt in his life.

Michelle took a deep breath, said a prayer and then bolted for the door. She heard Dan jump up from the bed as she fumbled with the locks on the door. He grabbed her head and shoved it into the door, she dropped to the ground. Michelle tried to use his pants to pull herself back up but he kept striking her anywhere he could reach. She was just too weak to defend herself properly. She didn't give up though, she was ready to fight until the absolute end because she knew she had nothing to lose. After she had picked herself up from the floor for the third time she began begging him to let her go. He was clearly emotional and very torn over what to do. She could tell there was a big part of him that really wanted to let her go but the fear of what would happen to him if he did that was keeping him from doing the right thing. He dropped his guard for just a moment to wipe his eyes and Michelle took the opportunity to kick him as hard as she could in the groin before punching him in the neck. He dropped to the ground and she got the door open and made a run for it.

Michelle knew she only had moments before he would be on her tail so she had to find somewhere to hide for a moment. She rounded the first corner just to get out of sight and then jumped onto the back of a utility truck and lay down.

She could hear him walking across the gravel, she kept her head down low and just listened to his movements. Another car pulled into the parking lot, the headlights lighting the utility truck right up. Dan went back around the corner to search the other side, the last thing he needed was anyone seeing him or asking him what he was doing. Michelle continued to wait, she was not going to move until she couldn't hear a single sound.

Tony was led down a narrow corridor and taken into a large room with metal cabinets taking up one whole side of the wall. He had been in this room before but it was to see a body of somebody he had never even met. He didn't know how to deal with the idea that his Michelle might be in one of those compartments. Chappelle and Hammond were with him but he hadn't been able to look either of them in the eye since they had left CTU.

A tall man entered the room. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting…"

Tony's body was shaking uncontrollably, his chest was so tight he could barely breath and sweat was pouring down his face. As the man slid one of the drawers out to reveal a body covered with a white sheet Tony's legs buckled from underneath him. Chappelle helped Tony back up onto his feet. "Tony…"

"Do you think you could all leave? I can't do this with everyone in here."

Chappelle was still holding Tony. "Are you sure? Do you want us to just stand back?"

Tony pulled away from him and shook his head. "No, I need you to leave."

The three men nodded their heads and then slowly stepped outside. The stood silently on the other side of the door. Tony made his way over to the body and put his hand on the end of the sheet. He knew he just had to do this and get it over with. The sheet was bouncing up and down because he was shaking so much. He closed his eyes and heaved the cover back.

'Not my Michelle, not my Michelle.' He opened his eyes and directed them down to the woman's head. Tony saw it wasn't Michelle, it took a moment to register. He couldn't believe how much this woman resembled Michelle, they could have been sisters. He stopped grinding his teeth, his shoulders dropped, his hands unclenched and he was able to take a breath. He began to sob uncontrollably. Relief overcame him and he completely broke down. He dropped to the ground and just let himself go.

Upon hearing Tony's sobs Hammond and Chappelle thought it must be Michelle. They rushed into the room and dropped down to Tony's side. "We are so sorry Tony…"

He lifted his tear stained face. "Its not her, its not Michelle, its not."

"What?!" Hammond jumped up and looked at the woman. He felt himself choke up in relief when he saw it wasn't her. They looked so much alike he completely understood why the police had thought it was her. He looked at Chappelle. "He's right…"

Tony's tears were stopping but his body was still shaking and he was still struggling for each breath. When Chappelle asked him if he was ready to go find Michelle he found himself almost let out a small laugh. "Hell yes."

Michelle didn't know what to do. She had a fairly good idea where she was but she was scared to death of calling CTU. After Dan she was finding it really hard not to lose her trust in everyone else there. She didn't think she could handle facing all the questions and medical investigations. All she wanted was Tony. She would have done anything in the world to have just him come pick her up and take her home but she knew that wasn't possible. She was so sick of feeling so frightened, so sick of feeling so weak and vulnerable.

She decided to start making her way as far from the motel they were at as possible. After making her way across the parking lot she ducked into someone's backyard. Soon she found herself a few blocks from the motel and she had managed to go the entire way without being on the road. When she reached a house on a corner block she crossed between the front and back to see what her options were. There was a 711 on the other side of the road a few shops down. She wondered how she could make it there without causing a scene. Still only covered by a t-shirt and hospital gown with cuts, blood and bruises all over her she would draw so much unwanted attention. She slumped to the ground, she was so tired and she needed to get her mind straight on what she was going to do.

CTU was close on Dan's tail. They had received an anonymous call through the police from one of the motel guests about a disturbance. One police checked it out and spoke to the manager, he identified Dan as being one of his guests. He didn't know anything about the woman though. He had also confirmed that a few of the guests had called him about what sounded like a domestic fight coming from his room. Tony joined his agents against everyone's suggestion to the motel. He was going to be the one that picked Michelle up. He was unable to express any emotion the whole way there, he refused to get his hopes up but he also refused to give up.

They found Dan sitting in the middle of the floor of his motel room. He was rocking back and forth, silently crying. It was nearly 12:15am, he was supposed to be leaving now to drop Michelle off. He knew when he didn't show up with her they would hunt him down and kill him. The guilt over what he had done mixed with his pending fate had caused him to break down.

Michelle wasn't here and Dan was a mess, Tony didn't know what to think. Was it a good sign that she wasn't here because she had gotten away or had Dan broken down because of what had already happened to her?

Tony was told he needed to wait a few minutes before trying to talk to Dan, they needed to calm him down first. He had heard the words but he hadn't taken them in. He paced past the broken man on the floor. "Where the fuck is she?"

Dan looked up at Tony who was seething at him. The held deep eye contact. "WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE??"

"I don't know….she got away from me, I don't know."

Tony grabbed him by his collar. "How long ago? What did you do to her?"

"A couple hours ago."

Dan was interrupted by Tony's cell phone ringing. It took Tony a moment to realize it was his phone. He didn't even break his eye contact with Dan as he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened it up to his ear.

"Almeida."

"Tony…."

His stomach flipped and his legs went weak. "Oh my God….Chelle?" He bolted out of the room to find privacy.

"Yeah its me."

"Baby, where are you? Are you ok? Oh my God Chelle…."

His words were met with the sound of nothing but sobs. "Please honey, tell me where you are so I can come get you."

"Who are you with Tony? Don't tell it's me…"

Tony was rubbing his chest, it was getting tighter and tighter. "Chelle I'm with everyone from CTU, they would know it was you from my reaction answering the phone. What are you thinking? Talk to me…"

"It was Dan Tony. He was working with them. I can't trust anyone at CTU…."

Tony cut her off. "You can trust me! No one else at CTU is going to hurt you sweetheart, I promise…."

She yelled at him. "No you can't, you can't promise me that Tony. You have no idea who anyone really is…..everyone trusted Dan so much they assigned him to my door."

Tony kicked the wall in front of him, the feeling of guilt in his stomach was putrid. "I'll never forgive myself Michelle. I'm so sorry I…"

"No no Tony, it's not you. I trust you with my whole heart, I'm just scared." Michelle didn't mean too but she was being distant to Tony. She wanted to breakdown to him, tell him how much she loved him but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She truly couldn't let herself believe that she'd never see Tony again, she had blocked it all out trying to protect herself from the pain. She was sure someone else would get to her first before he did, or they would just find her again – this nightmare would never be over.

Tony was begging her. "What if just me came to get you Chelle? I promise no one else….I will have to take you back to the hospital but we can have that time together."

Michelle was nodding her head. "Really? You mean it – just you?"

Tony felt so relieved that it seemed she would let him come to her. "I promise – just me. I'm at the motel Dan had you - Where are you?"

"I'm just down the road. I'll meet you around the back of the 711, it's like 3 blocks away heading north."

Tony was already heading to his car. "I'll be there in a couple minutes baby…" He hung up and stopped as he past Chappelle on the way. "That was Michelle, she is ok I think. I'm going to go and get her and take her back to the hospital."

Ryan began walking with Tony and signaling to the other agents. "This is great Tony….lets go…"

Tony stopped and held his hands out. "No…. I'm going alone. Michelle is worried about who she can trust in CTU – I'm lucky she even told me. No one is to follow – we will meet you at the hospital." He turned and left before anyone had a chance to argue.

Tony found he didn't think at all while he drove to the 711. Maybe he did, he couldn't tell anymore. He pulled into the back and saw Michelle immediately. He was completely overwhelmed with emotion. He pulled up right next to her, he was going to get out but she pulled the door open and jumped in straight away. Neither said a word, they just stared at each other, almost like they couldn't believe it was really them.

Michelle was about to lose it. She couldn't believe it, she was actually finally back with Tony. He looked even more handsome than she remembered and even though not a word had been said she could already feel the raw sexual energy between them. She turned a little more towards him and that's when she noticed his eyes becoming watery and his bottom lip quivering. It looked like he went to say something but the words didn't come out instead he began to sob. Michelle was completely shocked, she hadn't expected he would fall apart. He completely broke down, sobbing hysterically. Her heart shattered into a million pieces seeing him like this. For a moment it felt like her body was paralyzed, she opened her arms and pulled him into a hug. He gripped onto her so tightly and buried his head into her neck. Michelle soaked Tony in – this was way more than just a hug, it was so unbelievably emotionally powerful. She finally found her voice. As she spoke she held him so tightly with one hand and had the other one rubbing up and down his back. "It's ok Tony, I am here sweetie…..I'm here."

"I'm so sorry….so sorry. I'll never forgive myself for almost losing you Chelle…"

Tears were flowing at a rapid rate down her own face. She put a hand on each cheek cupping his face and pulled his head back so he had to look into her eyes. "It wasn't your fault Tony….there was nothing you could do – you have to believe that."

"I fell asleep…"

Michelle kissed his forehead and then spent a few minutes on both cheeks kissing up all his new and old tears. "I'm begging you Tony to believe and trust me on this. I'm begging you, I just can't handle this if I know you are blaming yourself. You are all I've thought about through all of this Tony – you are the only person I feel safe with. Please…please…"

Tony covered her hands with his and held them tightly. He kissed them all over – he started speaking over her. "Ok….ok. I believe you – don't worry about me ok?!" He pulled back and started running his hands over her body and checking her out. "Are you alright? What did he do to you? What happened to you in all this time?"

"Tony he….Tony he…he" She couldn't get her words out, she was crying too much. She kept trying but it was her turn to break down and she just couldn't control herself. Tony had her climb into the back with him so he could hold her without the gears getting in the way. Michelle kissed his neck, God he felt good. She loved feeling his rough stubble under her lips. She couldn't help herself, she had to kiss him hard all over his cheek and neck. Michelle used her tongue as she kissed him desperately. He was stretching his neck so she could get everywhere. He was kissing anywhere he could reach and his hands kept pulling her in closer to him and then griping her as hard as he could.

Michelle finally tried again. "Dan was going to hand me over at 12:30am to more of Pault's men. They were going to murder me for revenge on Pault's death. Also to send the message to CTU that you can't mess with them."

"It was me who killed Pault, it should be me they are after not you."

Michelle traced his face with her thumb. "It doesn't matter to them who actually killed him Tony – they want me because of everything that has happened."

Tony leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips. Every touch or kiss was full of so much love, lust and desperation for each other that it was so emotionally overwhelming – it was like their mind and bodies were demanding more and more from each other.

"I love you so much Michelle." As he said this he broke into tears again. He hung his head and tried to wipe them away.

Michelle leaned her head down and kissed him on the forehead. "I love you Tony. What are you thinking?"

He lifted his head and looked her in the eyes. He wanted to know exactly what had happened with her and he also needed her to know what he had been through at the morgue. It had been the hardest time of his life and it was still ripping him apart. "I need to tell you something that happened Chelle whilst you were gone, it's ripping me apart…."

"What Tony?"

"I can't believe it happened…"

"Tony you are scaring me…..is this about another woman?"

Tony was completely taken back by her. He thought about what he had said and could totally see why she had just asked that, he had made it sound like he was about to confess something. He slid his hand around her neck. "Michelle there will never be another woman. There never could be someone else because I am just too in love with you. I haven't even looked at another woman since I met you sweetheart." He felt relieved to see a small smile spread across her face.

"Sorry Tony, I didn't mean to jump to…"

He kissed her again. "Don't be, I worded what I was saying wrong, I'm the one that's sorry." He was about to start to tell her again but he stopped himself because they had locked each other into the most magical eye contact. Slowly their lips drew closer and closer until they were kissing passionately. This was really the first time they were able to kiss properly since they had been at Tony's house for those few hours all those days ago. The intensity was growing, he began to lean into her.  
She was half sitting, half lying down against the back door and Tony was pressed up against her. "Chelle, you have to tell me if I hurt you." He was panting so hard every word had been broken up.

Michelle's side was hurting but she didn't want to say anything because she was feeling so good. Tony pulled back and stopped. "I'm already hurting you aren't I?" He looked so concerned as he sat up straight. "You've gotta tell me sweetie…"

"I can handle it Tony, I need you…"

Tony leaned back in and whispered into her ear whilst nibbling on it. "Why don't you show me where I can touch you?" Tony held his breath whilst he waited for her answer and continued to play with her ear. After everything Michelle had been through he had been wondering if she would want to be intimate with him. He had accepted she might not want anything for a long time and he was more than happy to wait forever for Michelle. Nothing was more important to Tony than her feeling comfortable, safe and secure with him. Since she had gotten in the car though they had been so drawn to each other he doubted there was anything in the world that could pull them apart now. His need to be with her, close to her and touch her was overwhelming. Tony stopped kissing her ear and pulled back enough to look into her eyes. He felt her take his hand and together they moved her gown to the side of her body. She trailed his hand up her stomach, his eyes flickered to watch their hands so when she stopped leading he could continue.

He couldn't believe he was holding her in his hands again, it almost still didn't feel real. Now that his body wasn't pressed up against hers anymore he felt too far away. He cupped her in his hand, "is this better Chelle?"

"Closer Tony…" She pulled him by his cheek in so she could kiss him. They both felt better once their lips and tongues were pressed together again.

Tony was giving her everything he had in his kisses and the way he held her. He felt so broken and defeated on the inside. Too many times and in too many ways he had thought he had lost her over the last week that he didn't know how to accept that she was really here in his arms. Anger over what they had been put through started to run thick through his blood, it was the first emotion he had felt clearly for a long time.

"They found a body in a reserve, they thought it was you…"

Michelle pulled back from Tony in shock. "What?"

"The local police even matched the body to a photo of you…"

He reached out for her but she pushed him away. "Dead? You thought I was dead Tony?"

His voice was raised at her. "I didn't know how to think. They made me go to the morgue…" He went to take her hand but again she deflected it. "Why won't you take my hand?"

Michelle stopped staring at the back of the seat and looked at Tony. "I don't know. I don't know….I just can't believe you thought I was dead. Doesn't that mean you gave up on me?"

"How the fuck could I give up on you? That's bull shit." He slid himself across to the other side of the seat and started to open the door. "I've given every ounce of myself not to fucking give up Michelle. I had to stand over a body on a metal drawer with a sheet covering it thinking that it was you. Do you have any idea in this fucking world how I felt pulling that cover back? Huh?" He stood out of the car and slammed the door closed.

Michelle jumped out immediately and made her way around to Tony who stood with his hands on his hips and his head down. Michelle stopped right in front of him and reached her hand out flat on his chest. At her touch Tony calmed down a little. His lip began quivering again and the tears started to mount up. "I couldn't live without you Chelle. I wouldn't know how to live without you."

Tony began to sob and Michelle threw her arms around him. He pulled her in close nuzzling his face into her neck. "I love you so much Michelle….so much."

"I love you baby….its ok." She ran her hands over his chest. "It's alright now sweetheart. I'm here for you."

Tony gently kissed her neck. "I'm sorry I keep crying. I never cry. I just…..I don't know how to handle all this – I've been shattered. That was the hardest thing I've ever had to do tonight Chelle…."

"I'm so sorry for what you have been through Tony. I can't even imagine what that must have felt like. What can I do for you honey? Tell me what will help you?"

"Michelle you have been through more than anyone could ever imagine. I don't care about anything but having you 'ok' again. Having you in my arms again is all I need." He started using his tongue on her shoulder and neck.

Michelle felt so many different things but the only one she cared about was her feelings for Tony. She felt guilty for what he had been through. She totally recognized there was nothing she could have done but it didn't hurt less thinking about his night. She reversed the situation and she felt physically sick just thinking about what it would be like if she was asked to identify Tony at the morgue.

Michelle closed her eyes and let a few moments pass by where all she did was soak in how good it felt having Tony kissing her shoulder and neck like that. He was pulling her shirt off her shoulder and then he tilted her head to the side so that he could reach everywhere. She gripped his chest really hard in her hand and pressed into him as much as she could. "Should we get back into the car?"

Tony bended his knees enough that he could be level with Michelle's face. "I think we should…" He opened the back door and helped her in. They were kissing passionately on the lips within seconds of being back in his car. Tony pushed her gown to the side again and she moaned into his mouth when he started exploring her chest firmly with his hands.

Michelle needed this more than anything else. Tony made her feel so loved – after being through what she had, it was more than perfect to have him paying her attention like this. He struggled a little to not break the kiss as he stood up enough to push his hard self into her leg. Usually he would be nervous at doing all these things for the first time with Michelle but right now he wasn't at all, he just had to be as close to her as possible. Both Tony and Michelle desperately wanted to show one another what it felt like to be truly loved. They would appreciate and make the most of every single second they had together from now on.  
Right now, they were both almost scared of letting the other one go. They didn't want to even stop and take a breath, instead they kissed and held each other even harder.

When Tony pushed himself into Michelle she caught him before he had a chance to sit back down again. Finally they had to break the kiss, they were both panting so hard. Michelle began to undo his belt and when she had trouble Tony started to help her. He undid everything for her and then she pulled his pants to his knees and he sat back down next to her. "Chelle, how are you feeling?"

"You, I'm feeling how good it is to be with you."

Tony ran his hand so gently up her thigh and inside her underpants. Her gasp for him was met by his lips, which at the moment formed a little grin. He noticed her looking nervously out the window. "It's ok, we are round the back remember, besides you can't see a damn thing through the windows." He kissed her when he saw that she had relaxed a little.

Michelle felt so good to Tony's touch but she felt restless because she wanted to be making him feel good. It was because of her he had been suffering so much pain and she wanted to be able to begin to take some of that away. She reached her hand down and tugged at his boxer shorts until they had been pulled down. She had to giggle when she watched him staring at her hands with his eyes just about popping out of his head and his mouth wide open. She let his name slip in a groan as she wrapped her hand around him. "Tony…"

"Oh Shit Chelle….I've wanted…I've needed you for so long." With their bodies becoming tangled they continued kissing each other.

Tony moved her head to the side and sucked on her ear. "Come sit on my lap….sit on my lap…" They looked at each other intensely, knowing exactly what he meant. She began to lift herself up and Tony wrapped his arms around her to help. Suddenly a very sharp, very intense pain shot all up her side making her yell out in pain. She collapsed all of her weight in to his arms and Tony panicked.

"Where is the pain Chelle? How should I put you down? Do you need to sit or lie down?"

Michelle cried out again. "I don't know…sit?"

Tony sat Michelle down next to him and had her lie with her upper body across his lap. He lowered his head a little and stroked her face and hair. "Where is the pain baby?" He could see she was holding herself from crying. "Cry Chelle…..I'm here…"

Michelle began to sob and a couple times her entire body flinched. They stayed like that for quite a long time while she calmed down. He just kept stroking her face and holding her. "Aaahh Chelle what were we doing? I'm sorry, I can't believe I pushed things like that."

"Are you sorry for what was happening between us Tony?"

"Oh Chelle, I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that I should have controlled myself better. You are so badly injured you should be hospital, I don't even know what happened to you over the last 2 days. All that is my priority but I got so caught up in how good I was feeling – with your injuries, the last thing I should be trying to do is have sex with you."

"I loved being with you but Tony. It was like nothing else mattered but being with you. I just…I…you…I…"

"Take a big breath sweetheart and then try again. That is the same with me Chelle – I couldn't stop…I just had to know what it felt like to feel you and touch you…..I've only fantasized about you for like 14 months now …"

They both giggled a little. "Gee Tony talk about pressure on me!!" They both laughed.

Tony gently caressed her stomach. "No pressure….you felt amazing sweetheart. What were you going to say to me before?"

Michelle stop laughing, she put her hand over his and moved with it as he continued to slide it over her stomach. "I'm kind of relieved we didn't get to have sex then. Please don't hate me for this. I just wouldn't really want my first time with you to have been in the car park of 7/11. I certainly wanted to and was ready I just want it to be perfect."

Tony kissed her sweetly. "Couldn't have said it better myself beautiful. And I hate to admit it, but I wasn't thinking about anything other than how good you felt and what I was going to do you next. I should have had more control because I agree with you, I don't want the 1st time to be here, like this. I just love you so much and when I'm with you, it makes everything feel like it's going to be ok."

Michelle already felt so responsible for Tony's pain and hearing him say that made her want to do everything she could to make him feel ok. She rolled over on his lap so that she was on her side facing him and began softly kissing his stomach. Tony took in a deep breath and then bent over Michelle and started kissing down her side.

"How is the pain now Chelle?"

Michelle ran her hand up and down his chest as she answered him. "That pain I just got before is basically gone."

"How does the rest of you feel though?" His tongue began to trace over her shoulder.

"I feel pretty good Tony. My foot's sore because I need more stitches but other than that I'm doing alright."

He gently rolled her onto her back. He slowly moved her gown to the side to reveal her stomach. Tony ran his hand up her left side until he found the 2 sets of stitches, he then very softly traced over them with his finger. "What about these baby?"

Michelle put her hand up and covered Tony's with her own. "Don't even think about it Tony, I'm ok….really."

"I am worried Chelle, very worried. I need to get you back to the hospital…."

"No way."

He stroked her hair and the side of her face. "I have to sweetheart. I was lucky to able to come to you alone…"

Michelle closed her eyes tightly. "You are the director Tony, you are the one calling the shots…."

"Not on this one. Chappelle is basically in charge now. I mean officially I am but Division has certainly stepped in."

"I'm not going Tony. I'm just not going, there is nothing that you can say that will change my mind about this…"

Tony bent over and kissed Michelle on the forehead and then on her right cheek, just under her black eye. "Please don't do this Chelle, I've got to get you back. I want you to be seen by a doctor…..you were nowhere near ready to leave before. CTU is going to pull rank and make you come in."

Michelle started to sit up, Tony tried to stop her but she pushed past his hand anyway. She held onto the door and looked out the window. "I've survived these last couple days alright…"

"Chelle…"

She could tell he was getting upset. "Ok Ok Tony, I'll go to a doctor but I want to go to my own doctor – that's fair."

Tony wasn't getting upset with Michelle, he was just frustrated. He completely understood why she wouldn't want to go back to the hospital or CTU, he didn't want to either but he knew Division wasn't going to budge on any of this and they had a lot more power than anyone. "No Michelle, that's not going to work. You know what work's like, these things need to be done by the book." He put his arms around Michelle and pulled her back into his body. "Please sweetheart, I have to take you."

Michelle turned around so that she was facing him, she put her one had to her side and gripped the door handle. She was getting very upset now and her voice was raised but shaky. "Why do you care so much about CTU? I don't even know who I can trust there. I don't care about doing things by the book any more…"

"Because I want you safe God dammit Michelle. You think I give a shit about CTU? But if these guys are still after you, I want you protected!"

"Tony it was because of CTU that all this just happened." Michelle pulled down on the handle so the door opened.

Tony reached straight across and pulled the door shut. "Where are you going to go Michelle?" He was stretched across her body and he turned his head so their faces were only inches apart and they stared into each other's eyes. Michelle's were wet with tears, Tony's were dry. He felt so frightened and stressed. "Huh? Where are you going to go?"

Michelle took her hand off the handle and lowered her head, breaking eye contact. She lowered her head and spoke in just above a whisper. "I don't know. Just away from everything…"

Tony's voice was still loud and overpowering. "Away from me?"

When Michelle began to cry it made Tony calm down a little bit. He took his hand away from the door and put it around her neck and pulled her into his chest. When their bodies were pressed against each other he stroked her hair.

"I don't want to leave you Tony but I can't handle all this and I don't trust anyone at the moment. I want to be able to but I can't. I don't feel safe."

Tony sighed, he wished he knew what to do but he didn't. He wished he knew what to say but he didn't. He kissed her head a couple times softly while he tried to find some words. "I'm sorry Michelle. I understand how you feel…."

Tony was cut off by his phone ringing, he knew it would be CTU wondering where they were. He told Michelle to wait one moment. His mind was racing trying to figure out what he was going to even say to Chappelle. Michelle pulled her head back to give him room and sat quietly watching his face as he spoke on the phone. She watched as his face turned to one of complete and utter despair, he stopped talking and was barely holding the phone up to his ear. Her heart sank wondering what on earth the news could be. She stroked his hand trying to offer him comfort but she doubted he barely even noticed. Finally he let the phone slide down his arm and he snapped it closed in his fist.

"What's going on Tony? Are you ok?"

He pulled her in to his body tightly and held her head into his neck. Silence sat in the air as Tony struggled for words and Michelle gave him all the time he need.

"They found your apartment Chelle?"

"What? Who did? What do you mean?"

"I don't know…Pault's men. I have no idea how to say this….Michelle they torched your apartment. Everything is gone…"

Tony held her tighter waiting for his words to register. He could feel her heart pounding against his chest. "I love you Chelle, I'm going to look after you."

Tony waited and waited for Michelle to start crying or screaming, but she didn't. She stayed quietly pressed against his neck. After a few minutes he pulled her back to check on her. She had a couple small tears running down her face but what made him breathless was the shear look of being 'lost' in her eyes. "Hey baby…tell me what you are thinking."

Michelle lowered her eyes. "I don't know anymore Tony. It's just…I'm not going to make it out of this……am I?"

"Chelle, oh my God…"

"No Tony, I mean they keep getting to me. I'm just so tired….. I give up."

Tony pulled her back into his body, stroking her back and hair. "Don't say that Chelle. We are going to get through this. I'm not losing you, I don't care what it takes or what we have to do….they will never touch you again."

Tony held her for a few minutes before telling her he needed to make a call. He asked Michelle if she would be ok if he stepped outside for a moment. He had an idea but he didn't want to get her hopes up if it didn't work out. Once outside he slouched his body up against the car taking a moment to look around and just catch his breath. He pulled out his phone and called Chappelle back.

"Chappelle."

"Ryan its Tony."

"Did you talk to Michelle? How is she?"

"Not great Ryan. I'd like to take Michelle to a safe house and have her cared for there. She doesn't want to return to the hospital and I believe that is fair enough – they already know to look there."

"I was about to call you, I just arranged a safe house for both you and Michelle. Pault's men know too much about you as well and so we need you both protected. Janine has organized for medical help to be there for Michelle. I'll message your CTU line the address, if you start making your way there."  
"That is great, thanks Ryan. I'll call you soon."

Tony hung up and breathed a sigh of relief. He opened the car door and slid back in next to Michelle who was in the same position as when he left her. He took her hands in his. She offered him a small smile, which he kissed softly.

"Ryan has set up a safe house for you and I Michelle. They will have a doctor come out there to see you…"

Michelle's eyes immediately looked hopeful. "Just you and I?"

Tony gave her a smile. "Just for you and I, is that ok Chelle?"

Michelle nodded her head and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thanks Tony."

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